THE SIGNIFICANCE OF REACTIONS TO PURIFIED FRACTIONS OF DERMATOPHAGOIDES-PTERONYSSINUS AND DERMATOPHAGOIDES-FARINAE IN CANINE ATOPIC-DERMATITIS

The significance of reactions to crude extracts and purified fractions of the house dust mites Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Der p I and D er p II) and Dermatophagoides farinae (Der f I and Der f II) was evalu ated in dogs with clinical manifestations of atopic dermatitis (AD). I n 13 healthy control dogs and eight dogs with AD, immediate skin test reactivity was determined to serial dilutions of Der p I, Der p II, De r f I and Der f II. In addition, allergen-specific IgGd antibodies wer e determined by means of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and Western blots. The results suggest that, in contrast to what occur s in humans and despite immediate skin test reactivity in some dogs, D er p I, Der p II, Der f I and Der f II are unlikely to be major allerg ens in dogs with AD. However, only serum of atopic dogs consistently b inds a 90 kDa polypeptide of D. farinae, as shown by Western blot anal ysis.