Fel d 1 production in the cat skin varies according to anatomical sites.
BACKGROUND
Fel d 1 is the major cat allergen, inducing asthma in sensitized individuals. It is produced by the skin and lies on fur. Recently, it was established that the amount of Fel d 1 on fur varies among anatomical sites. However, it is not known whether the allergen production by skin varies in parallel. The objective was to compare the Fel d 1 production by male cat skin in two anatomical sites, the face and the chest, in order to correlate it with Fel d 1 amounts on fur, and to assess the reaccumulation of Fel d 1 after washing.


METHODS
Ten intact male cats were shaved under general anesthesia at both areas, and the fur was collected. The skin was washed and the washing fluid collected for Fel d 1 assays. Fel d 1 levels were measured in microg/g fur and ng/cm2 skin by ELISA before and after washing and 48 h later.


RESULTS
In skin washing, the mean Fel d 1 level was significantly higher in the face (1015.2 +/- 821.6 ng/cm2) than the chest (115.2 +/- 66.8 ng/cm2). In the fur, the respective levels were 63.6 +/- 34 and 29.6 +/- 13.6 microg/g. In the skin sample taken after skin washing, the level of Fel d 1 dropped to 25.1 +/- 25.7 ng/cm2 on the face and to 22 +/- 17.4 ng/cm2 on the chest. After 2 days, skin Fel d 1 levels returned to basal values, with higher values on the face than the chest.


CONCLUSIONS
This study shows that Fel d 1 levels on the skin are dramatically higher on the facial area than chest. This anatomical variation is concordant with the levels of Fel d 1 found on fur. Washing reduces levels of major allergen on cat skin and fur, but the accumulation on skin is restored within 2 days.
Carayol
N
N
UPRES JE 2050, Service de Pneumologie, Hôpital Sainte Marguerite, Marseilles, France.
Birnbaum
J
J
Magnan
A
A
Ramadour
M
M
Lanteaume
A
A
Vervloet
D
D
Tessier
Y
Y
Pageat
P
P
D000818:Animals; D002415:Cats / Q000378:metabolism*; D005145:Face; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D006197:Hair / Q000378:metabolism; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D012867:Skin / Q000378:metabolism*; D013909:Thorax / Q000378:metabolism
D006023:Glycoproteins; C059296:Fel d 1 protein, Felis domesticus