An allergen can be broadly defined as anything that can trigger an allergic response (Woodfolk et al, 2015). In theory, any foreign (environmental) material can act as an allergen, although some substances are more likely to trigger allergic responses than others: most allergens are proteinaceous in nature (Goodman and Breiteneder, 2019). Common environmental allergens include:
- The various types of tree and flower pollen that cause hayfever;
- House dust, which usually includes the highly allergenic faecal pellets of house dust mites that are responsible for perinneal rhinitis;
- Shellfish and peanut or other nut proteins, which can trigger anaphylactic responses.
Allergy Therapeutics plc (LON:AGY) is a market-leading, pioneering immunology business with specialist experience in the research and development of allergy treatments.