Laboratory animal workers face a high risk of developing
laboratory animal allergy as a consequence of inhaling
animal proteins at work; this has serious consequences for
their health and future employment. Exposure to animal allergen
remains to be the greatest risk factor although the relationship
is complex, with attenuation at high allergen exposure.
Recent evidence suggests that this may be due to a form of
natural immunotolerance. Furthermore, the pattern of exposure
to allergen may also be important in determining whether
an allergic or a tolerant immune response is initiated. Risk
associated with specific tasks in the laboratory need to be
determined to provide evidence to devise a code of best practice
for working within modern laboratory animal facilities.
Recent evidence suggests that members of lipocalin allergens,
such as Mus m 1, may act as immunomodulatory proteins,
triggering innate immune receptors through toll-like receptors
and promoting airway laboratory animal allergy. This highlights
the need to understand the relationship between endotoxin,
animal allergen and development of laboratory animal
allergy to provide a safe working environment for all laboratory
animal workers.