Japanese researchers have identified a molecule in the body that limits the symptoms of asthma, hay fever, atopic dermatitis and other allergies, providing hope for the development of a new wide-ranging medicine.

The discovery was made by a team of researchers including Akira Shibuya, a professor in immunology at the University of Tsukuba. If a way is found to boost the activity of the molecule, which the researchers named Allergin-1, it could lead to the development of a medicine to treat various allergies.

"By increasing the activity of Allergin-1, we can effectively control allergies," Shibuya said. Some 30 percent of people in Japan are said to have an allergy of some sort. Allergies occur when molecules called antigens that are contained in pollen and foods enter the body, causing cells known as mast cells to react and release an excessive amount of chemical substances. Histamine, which causes inflammation, is one such substance. In the past, medicines have been introduced to limit the effects of such substances, but it has been difficult to control them completely.

The researchers focused on ways to prevent the chemical substances that trigger allergic symptoms from being released. They found that if they stimulated a certain molecule on the surface of mast cells, the amount of chemical substances that were released was cut by about half. They also found that mice without this molecule experienced allergic reactions that were much more severe than those in ordinary mice.

It was discovered that the molecule worked to restrain allergic reactions regardless of the type of antigen. The group's research was published in the online version of the U.S. journal Nature Immunology on Sunday. (The Mainichi Daily)