Alpha-Gal Syndrome
Mine Ün1, Selen Dağaşan2
1Istanbul Aydın University, Faculty of Medicine Istanbul, Turkey
2Trakya University, Faculty of Nutrition and Dietetics, Edirne, Turkey
Keywords: Allergy, alpha-gal syndrome, bourbon virüs, red meat
Abstract
Galactose-alpha-1,3-galactose (alpha-gal) is a typical glycoprotein found in mammals except humans and primates. Since humans and primates have lost the galactosyltransferase enzyme in the evolutionary process, the immune system perceives the α-gal glycoprotein as a foreign body and creates an immune response. In recent years, it has been identified that this mammalian oligosaccharide epitope triggers a newly discovered IgE - mediated antibody response in the body and the associated disease is called Alpha-gal Syndrome. Alpha-gal syndrome is observed in 3 types of cases in the clinic: It presents as the observation of a delayed type-1 allergic reaction within 3-6 hours after the consumption of mammalian products rich in alpha gal, after drug use, and as a result of a tick bite. In this review, alpha Gal syndrome was examined in detail and the possible relationship between the Bourbon virus associated with the lone star tick (A. americanum) and alpha Gal syndrome is described.
The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.
The authors received no financial support for the research and/or authorship of this article.