Dr. Ian Kimber delivered the Society of Toxicology’s 2015 Distinguished Toxicology Scholar Award Lecture and provided a crisp overview of ongoing research designed to elicit and elucidate molecular mechanisms of allergic contact dermatitis, respiratory allergy, and food allergy. On a molecular level, Dr. Kimber’s research establishes that not all contact allergens are created equal—there are different molecular pathways for contact allergens. Standard skin sensitization assays such as guinea pig tests identify substances that pose a hazard of dermal sensitization, but provide no dose-response information needed for risk assessment. More recent assays such as the local lymph node assay (LLNA) allow differentiation of skin sensitizers based on relative potency, and now provide risk assessors with the means to quantify health risk associated with dose. In contrast to recent headway made in the skin sensitization arena, there are no validated methods to identify or characterize chemical respiratory allergens.
Dr. Kimber’s recent work on reverse engineering an Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) for respiratory allergy probes into the mechanistic basis of respiratory sensitization and optimally, will establish new approaches to quantify health risks posed by respiratory allergens.
This blog discusses highlights from the SOT Annual Meeting and ToxExpo Distinguished Toxicology Scholar Award Lecture: Allergic Sensitization: Defining Molecular Mechanisms and Characterizing Hazard and Risk