By that I mean ones whose coats have grey instead of black, or tan or golden instead of brown. Of the four we have had through the years with seasonal allergies, three had dilute coats (The other was a dark silvermitt with multiple serious deformations.). We have had few dilute coat ferrets in our three decades (something like 32 or 33 years) with ferrets in the family, maybe a half dozen or maybe slightly more so close to half the dilute coat ferrets we have had have developed seasonal allergies but almost none of the rest. My eye is wearing out badly now so I found only this which might or might not indicate one direction for further inquiry: QUOTE Exp Dermatol. 2013 Dec;22(12):792-4. doi: 10.1111/exd.12263. Is MC1 dispensable for regulation of cutaneous inflammatory and immune responses? Bohm M, Luger TA, Steingraber AK, Goerge T. Abstract The melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1 ) - being most abundantly expressed in the skin by melanocytes - has a physiological role for melanin pigmentation in many vertebrate species. MC1 has also been implicated in regulation of skin inflammation as this receptor is detectable in the majority of non-melanocytic cell types and its ligand alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH) exerts immunoregulatory and anti-inflammatory effects. However, in vivo studies on mice with targeted disruption of MC1 have been missing in the context of skin inflammation until recently. Wolnicka-Glubisz et al. now reported that the course of ultraviolet (UV)-induced inflammation, contact hypersensitivity, neonatal immune tolerance and UV-induced immunosuppression is similar in MC1 signal-deficient (C57BL/6-Mc1r(e/e)) and wild-type mice. These unexpected findings are supported by own observations in experimentally induced immune-complex-mediated vasculitis: Mc1r(e/e) mice exhibited a similar extent of the reverse passive cutaneous Arthus reaction compared with wild-type animals. Future studies are thus needed to clarify whether these findings are due to limitations in the chosen mouse model and/or point to additional MC subtypes that may regulate inflammatory and immune responses in the skin. (c) 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. KEYWORDS: MC1; MSH; immune response; immunomodulation; vasculitis Comment on Functional melanocortin 1 receptor Mc1r is not necessary for an inflammatory response to UV radiation in adult mouse skin. [Exp Dermatol. 2013] PMID: 24131319 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] END QUOTE [Posted in FML 8189]