為什么人類對(duì)貓過(guò)敏

世界上唯一有毒的靈長(zhǎng)類動(dòng)物可以解釋：為什么人類對(duì)貓過(guò)敏

For those with a severe cat allergy, any location that harbours a pet feline can become a toxic no-go zone. Research on another tragically cute mammal now suggests this might be no accident of nature – cats really are trying to keep us away.

對(duì)于那些對(duì)貓有嚴(yán)重過(guò)敏反應(yīng)的人來(lái)說(shuō)，任何養(yǎng)貓的地方都可能成為有毒的禁區(qū)。對(duì)另一種可悲可愛(ài)的哺乳動(dòng)物的研究表明，這可能不是自然的意外——貓真的試圖把我們趕走。

A study on the world's only known example of a venomous primate has found a surprising similarity between a key protein in its armpit glands and the allergen found in cats, raising the suggestion that if one evolved as a defensive weapon, so might the other.

一項(xiàng)對(duì)世界上唯一已知的有毒靈長(zhǎng)類動(dòng)物的研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，在其腋窩腺的一種關(guān)鍵蛋白質(zhì)與貓身上發(fā)現(xiàn)的過(guò)敏原之間存在驚人的相似性，這提出了一個(gè)假設(shè)，即如果一種動(dòng)物進(jìn)化為防御性武器，那么另一種動(dòng)物也可能進(jìn)化為防御性武器。

It's a finding that not only puts cat allergies into a new context, but could lead to treatments for those suffering the effects of an unpleasant encounter with either animal.

這一發(fā)現(xiàn)不僅將貓過(guò)敏納入了一個(gè)新的范疇，而且還可能為那些遭受與任何一種動(dòng)物的不愉快遭遇的人帶來(lái)治療。

Slow lorises (Nycticebus sp.) are several species of primate commonly found in the wilds of South and Southeast Asia. Looking at one, you'd swear it was dreamed up in a Hasbro toy workshop for toddlers.

慢懶猴(Nycticebus sp.)是在南亞和東南亞的野外常見的幾種靈長(zhǎng)類動(dòng)物。看著它，你會(huì)發(fā)誓它是孩之寶(Hasbro)為幼兒設(shè)計(jì)的玩具車間里憑空想出來(lái)的。

But don't let the looks fool you. Inside the loris's mouth are rows of tiny, razor-sharp teeth used to both tear into small prey and keep predators and competitors at bay.

但不要讓外表蒙蔽了你。在懶猴的嘴巴里有一排排鋒利的小牙齒，用來(lái)撕咬小獵物，防止捕食者和競(jìng)爭(zhēng)者靠近。

As if a bite isn't enough, when threatened, the fluff monsters put their hands up and lick the glands tucked away in their armpits, dosing their spit with a rich array of compounds fine-tuned to help transform a tiny cut into a festering hole of dead flesh.

好像被咬了還不夠似的，當(dāng)受到威脅時(shí)，這些毛茸茸的怪物會(huì)舉起手來(lái)舔腋窩里的腺體，往他們的唾液里加入豐富的化合物，這些化合物經(jīng)過(guò)精心調(diào)整，可以幫助把一個(gè)小傷口變成一個(gè)化膿的死肉洞。

"Generally slow lorises use their venom to fight with other slow lorises, causing very slow-to-heal wounds," says biologist Bryan Fry from the University of Queensland in Australia.

澳大利亞昆士蘭大學(xué)的生物學(xué)家布萊恩·弗萊說(shuō):“通常情況下，慢懶猴會(huì)用它們的毒液與其他慢懶猴打斗，導(dǎo)致傷口愈合非常緩慢。”

"But, when humans are bitten, the victim will display symptoms as if they're going into allergic shock."

“但是，當(dāng)人類被咬傷時(shí)，受害者會(huì)表現(xiàn)出過(guò)敏休克的癥狀。”

Those symptoms can include difficulty breathing, blood in the urine, extreme pain, and - in the worst cases - anaphylactic shock.

這些癥狀包括呼吸困難、尿中帶血、極度疼痛，在最嚴(yán)重的情況下還會(huì)出現(xiàn)過(guò)敏性休克。

The secretions responsible for the toxic effects of the animal's bite are known to include more than two hundred aromatic compounds, many of which have already been characterised.

已知負(fù)責(zé)動(dòng)物咬傷毒性作用的分泌物包括超過(guò)二百種芳香化合物，其中許多已經(jīng)被鑒定過(guò)。

But among them are a bunch of proteins which still pose some mystery, and it's these chemicals that Fry and his team sequenced to learn more about their origins and toxicity.

但其中有一堆蛋白質(zhì)仍然有些神秘，弗萊和他的團(tuán)隊(duì)對(duì)這些化學(xué)物質(zhì)進(jìn)行排序，以了解它們的來(lái)源和毒性。

Surprisingly, the proteins weren't entirely new to science. In fact, many of us are painfully familiar with them already.

令人驚訝的是，這些蛋白質(zhì)在科學(xué)上并不完全是新的。事實(shí)上，我們中的許多人已經(jīng)痛苦地熟悉了它們。

This research was published in Toxins.

這項(xiàng)研究發(fā)表在《毒素》雜志上。