ALLERGIC responses, including the classic sneezing fits that many allergy sufferers experience every spring, could one day be a thing of the past.

Most of the blame for an allergy attack can be put down to immune system cells called “mast” cells, says a study published yesterday in the American medical journal Nature Immunology.

These cells have a hair-trigger response to release irritating chemicals as soon as they sense the presence of allergens such as pollen.

A group of researchers, largely from Stanford University’s School of Medicine in California, argue that while scientists have long known how an allergy attack is triggered, little is known about how to turn the responsible mast cells off.

The scientists report they have identified a protein — RabGEF1 – – that dampens the allergic response of the mast cells.

The findings suggest that the protein normally puts the brakes on allergic responses and could potentially prove the basis for developing therapies to suppress allergic responses.

One of Australia’s leading allergy experts, Rob Loblay, from Sydney’s Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, said the research was a very interesting piece in the puzzle of how the mast cells function.

“But it is a very complex jigsaw puzzle,” he said. “This research doesn’t yet shed light on why some people are prone to allergies and some are not. It is tantalising and it might provide a clue. But we are still a long way off a solution.