You wrote:
>>(A copy of this message has also been posted to the following
newsgroups:
>bionet.immunology)
>I don't know how the sensitization might be modulated by MAO etc., but
the
>underlying process is that contact sensitivity to chemicals is an
immune
>response mediated by T cells. Certain chemicals and metal ions bind
to
>histocompatibility antigens or to self peptides bound to
>histocompatibility antigens in such a way to make them look foreign to
T
>lymphocytes, and provoke an immune reponse. The T cells release
>inflammatory cytokines that cause the pathology.
>>David C. Parker
But what about asthmatic reactions to specific chemicals? There are a
few people that have almost instant reactions to exposure to chemicals
they have been sensitized to. Doesn't it take a least several minutes
for an immune response to occur, even immediate types?
Betty Bridges
