Gene therapy may be the key to eliminating severe allergies

Researchers at the University of Queensland in Australia were able to interrupt an animal's immune response in animals via gene therapy.

Ray Steptoe, UQ Diamantina Professor, said: "When someone has an allergy or asthma, the symptoms they encounter are that immune cells react to the protein in the allergen. And a challenge. The new way is in asthma and allergies, immune cells, called T cells, develop a form of 'immune memory' that has become resistant to allergy treatments " .

"Now, we have been able to 'wipe' the memory of T cells in animals with gene therapy, reducing the immune system's sensitivity so that it can tolerate proteins, proteins from real types. Our research uses an allergen to asthma, but it can be expanded to treat, always applied to people with severe allergies to peanuts, bee venom, hard-shelled animals and other specific substances in food ' - he said.

To do this, the researchers took the original blood cells and inserted a gene, adjusted the allergy proteins, and then placed it in the test object before conducting the experiment.

"These cells are made to produce new blood cells that express proteins and aim to overshadow immune cells that identify and cause allergies to certain substances." - Steptoe "Right now, allergies are in the majority of people with asthma and can even die if allergies are really serious."

According to the Asthma Foundation of Queensland and New South Wales, there are more than two million Australians with asthma and more than half of these people are affected by allergy-related asthma symptoms.

Dr. Steptoe said: "We have not achieved what we want because there is a problem that gene therapy to stop allergic reactions is not as simple as flu vaccination, but requires us to study. save how to simplify this method, make it easier for people to access it. '

This research has just been published in JCI Insight.