Sutton B J, Gould H J
Randall Institute, King's College London, UK.
Nature. 1993 Dec 2;366(6454):421-8. doi: 10.1038/366421a0.
IgE and its receptors are believed to have evolved as a mechanism to protect mammals against parasites. But other and intrinsically innocuous antigens can subvert this system to provoke an allergic response. For human populations in industrialized countries, allergy and asthma now represent a far greater threat than parasitic infection, and the main impetus for current studies of the IgE system is the hope of understanding and intervening in the aetiology of allergic diseases.
免疫球蛋白E（IgE）及其受体被认为是作为一种保护哺乳动物抵御寄生虫的机制而进化的。但其他本质上无害的抗原可以破坏这个系统，引发过敏反应。对于工业化国家的人群来说，过敏和哮喘如今构成的威胁远比寄生虫感染大得多，而目前对IgE系统进行研究的主要动力在于希望了解并干预过敏性疾病的病因。
