Regulatory DC immunotherapy can be effective for food allergies and suggest that induction of Foxp3− regulatory T cells might be a useful strategy for tolerance induction in this context.
A new immunotherapy technique has been developed that nearly eliminates the allergic response to peanut and egg white proteins in food-allergic mice, reducing the anaphylactic response by up to 90% with only one treatment. The findings open the door to test this new allergy treatment in “humanized mice” – mice with non-existent immune systems implanted with cells from a human immune system, eg, from a peanut-allergic person. With Health Canada approval, the first human trial could begin in about one year, Gordon said.
“If we can reliably ‘cure’ food allergies, or related conditions such as asthma or autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis with this new therapy, it would be life-changing for affected individuals.” Roughly 2.5 million Canadians self-report having at least one food allergy. Anaphylaxis, defined as a severe rapid-onset allergic reaction, can be life-threatening and treatment options are limited. The discovery involves generating a type of naturally occurring immune cell that sends a signal to reverse the hyper-immune response present in allergic reactions. That signal triggers another “off switch” that turns off reactive cells further along the allergic pathway.
“We predict the treatment could be on the market within the next 5 to 10 years,” said Gordon, research leader in the Allergy, Genes and Environment (AllerGen) Network. In 2010, Gordon’s team demonstrated they could reverse an asthmatic response in human cells in a test tube. Using 3 applications of a similar therapy in a 2012 study, the researchers effectively eliminated asthma in afflicted mice, within only 8 weeks. “Even if we only cure 25% of subjects, we will dramatically improve the health of those individuals, and also reduce healthcare system expenses,” said Gordon,research associate.
Method: •The key component of this research is dendritic cells, gate-keepers of the immune system and are present in tissues in contact with the external environment, eg skin, inner lining of the nose, lungs, stomach and intestines.
•Gordon’s pioneering treatment involves producing dendritic cells in a test tube and then exposing them to a unique mix of proteins, a vitamin A-related acid naturally occurring in the human gut, and to the allergen, peanut or ovalbumin (egg white protein). The modified dendritic cells are then reintroduced into the mouse.
•Using this technique, they nearly eliminated the allergic reaction by converting allergen-sensitive immune cells into cells that mimic the response seen in healthy, non-allergic individuals.
Food allergy is a growing public health issue in Canada. Currently, there is no known cure. According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, an estimated 171,000 Canadians visited emergency rooms for allergic reactions from 2013 to 2014, the rate of anaphylaxis visits increased by 95 per cent from 2006 to 2014, and the severity of reactions is increasing.
Gordon said the new technique also shows promise for treating autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis. “It would take very little to adapt the therapy for autoimmune diseases,” he said.
http://news.usask.ca/articles/research/2016/new-immunotherapy-technique-holds-promise-for-curing-food-allergies.php
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