Predictive contact allergenicity influence of the animal strain used.

In order to determine the validity of reported alleged differences in the susceptibility of various strains of guinea pigs to the sensitizing action of known allergens, three unrelated strains of guinea pigs, namely Pirbright White, Hartley and Himalayan spotted strain, were selected. In our investigation, 3 haptens differing in their sensitization potential were used. The results showed that the sensitivity of the 3 given guinea pig strains was comparable. Furthermore, the sensitivity of a given guinea pig strain can only be determined by comparison of the sensitization reaction of several known contact allergens of various sensitizing potential.