IgG and IgE antibodies against antigens of the cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis felis, in sera of allergic and non-allergic dogs.

Antigens from a soluble extract of cat fleas (FS) were separated using SDS-PAGE, and transferred to nitrocellulose paper. Sera from dogs shown by use of a provocative flea feeding test to be either allergic (23 dogs) or non-allergic (20 dogs) to flea bites, were used in Western blots to identify flea antigens that react with canine IgG or IgE. The sera were also tested in ELISA against FS to quantify levels of IgG and IgE antibodies. Antibodies present in the sera of both flea allergic and non-allergic dogs identified multiple antigens. There was a great diversity of responses within each group, and there was no pattern of reactivity that distinguished dogs with flea allergy from dogs not allergic to fleas. IgG and IgE antibodies were not significantly different between the two groups of dogs. These results demonstrated that there is little association between particular antibody responses and allergic reactivity of dogs to fleas.