In lab study, nanoparticle shows promising results for treating severe allergies

For about 1 in 13 children in the U.S., usually harmless foodstuffs such as milk, eggs and peanuts can send the body ’s natural defenses into overdrive.Symptoms of food allergies can vary widely, but at worst, a systemwide allergic response can lead to anaphylaxis, a life-threatening condition characterized by a sudden drop in blood pressure and difficulty breathing.Although there are now some preventive measures for food-induced anaphylaxis, there are not yet any long-lasting solutions — treatments capable of locking the immune system into a state of tolerance, so that it doesn’t respond to allergens.Now, a UCLA research team has developed a possible way to impart long-term relief from allergies by inducing an active state of immune tolerance.The technology uses a nanoparticle — a particle so small that it’s measured on the scale of billionths of a meter — to deliver proteins to specific cells in the liver. Those proteins may trigger an allergic response in other organs in the body, but in the liver, they cause the targeted cells to activate a tolerant immune respon se that switches the allergic response off.A report on the research, published in ACS Nano, indicates that the platform is effective in preventing allergic reactions to an egg protein when ingested or inhaled. The UCLA researchers also showed that delivering a single piece of a protein that triggers allergies is sufficient to ameliorate the allergic reaction.“Huge numbers of people suffer from food ...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news