Reference proteins
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Strong, weak and non-allergenic proteins
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Confirm reproducibility and predictability
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Requires additional groups of animals
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Animal species
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Mice
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Small size, short breeding cycle, availability of many reagents
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Usually need adjuvants, low amount of sera can be obtained
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Rats
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Small size, short breeding cycle, larger amount of sera can be obtained, no need for use of adjuvant
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Restricted availability of reagents, larger amount of protein/food required
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Dogs
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Large organ size and increased amount of sera can be obtained, spontaneously develop allergies
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Restricted availability of reagents, Very large amount of protein/food required, large animals, prolonged duration of animal studies, expensive and ethical consideration
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Route of sensitization
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Oral
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Relevant route of sensitization
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Often needs the use of adjuvant, require large amount of protein
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i.p.
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No adjuvant, robust sensitization route, no need for large amount of proteins/food
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Non-physiological relevant route
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Cutaneous
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Relevant route of sensitization
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Usually requires immunological danger signals
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Dose–response relationship
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Helps in creating threshold levels, helps in hazard identification
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Several groups of animals required for each protein
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Protein preparation
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Whole foods
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Ability to study the sensitizing capacity of proteins in their natural matrix, Ability to study the allergenicity of true novel foods, Easy to prepare
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Difficult to identify the sensitising proteins
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Purified proteins
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Ability to study the inherent sensitizing capacity of the individual protein
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Difficult to prepare, need large amounts of high quality purified protein, protein structure may change
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Food Extracts
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Easy to prepare
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Difficult to identify the sensitizing protein, some proteins may be lost or the relative amounts may change, protein structure may change
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Protein processing
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Raw protein/food
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Ability to study the inherent allergenicity
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May not reflect the end use of the protein
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Processed protein/food
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Ability to study the sensitizing capacity of the consumed version which cannot be predicted otherwise
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May impact the allergenic properties
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Adjuvant
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Provides a danger signal
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Artificially modifies the immune response
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