Allergy Planet (14 of 29)

Allergy Planet

In Netherton syndrome you do not have the production of Lekti.
It 's absent.
If it's absent then it disturbs the whole protein biology required to form a normal skin barrier.
This was the first insight that we had that the skin barrier might be linked to allergy in some way.
OK.
Lekti is a protein which makes and maintains the surface layer of the skin.
When it is missing the skin barrier is deficient, like a dam with holes in it.
It was an important clue as to why Netherton patients were so allergic.

They were somehow becoming sensitised to allergens through their damaged skin.
It 's a discovery that doesn't only apply to Nethertons patients.
Harper and Callard have linked similar genetic differences to other skin conditions such as eczema.
But it may also apply to us all.
We decided to just remove the skin barrier which is done very simply just with Sellotape, but once that's removed without actually damaging the skin, without actually going into the inner layers, without causing any bleeding, when you put the antigen on the skin then it elicits this very powerful response.
By simply removing a layer of skin, Callard had shown it was possible to provoke a strong allergic reaction.
This revolutionary new idea may shed light on why allergies are on the rise in the developed world.
We have gone in Britain alone from a time when perhaps 50 or 60 years ago we had a bath in a tin bath in the kitchen once a week to all sorts of products that we use on our skin.
These very strong detergents, rough exfoliating agents, the loofahs and so on.
So I think our hygiene habits can result in damage to the skin barrier.