Researchers have performed a proof-of-concept study in mice which shows that a ‘molecular shield’ effectively blocks hay fever allergies.
The team has engineered an antibody that specifically fights against mugwort pollen, one of the main causes of hay fever allergies.
Mugwort pollen is widespread across Europe and Asia, and is endemic in Australia and the Northern Hemisphere.
In Australia, it’s estimated that almost 1 in 4 people suffer from hay fever, and in Europe, 40% of the population are allergic to pollen.
Every year in Europe, hay fever and asthma result in an estimated 100 million lost days of work and school. The new ‘molecular shield’ may provide hope to long term hay fever sufferers.
“This is the first time a monoclonal antibody designed to block a specific pollen allergen has been delivered directly into the nose and been shown to protect against allergy symptoms in the upper and lower airways,” says Professor Kaissar Tabynov, the study’s senior author.
To treat allergies, health professionals have traditionally used allergen-specific immunotherapy. This therapy involves gradually exposing patients to increasing doses of the allergen, until the patient is desensitised.
This kind of treatment does not work for everyone, so in recent decades there has been a shift toward ‘allergen-specific monoclonal antibody therapy’.
Researchers develop antibodies that either recognise the allergen and block it or bind the allergen to the antibodies, preventing an allergic reaction.
“Our method acts immediately and locally at the lining of the nose, by neutralizing the allergen on contact,” says Tabynov, who is also the director of the International Centre for Vaccinology at the Kazakh National Agrarian Research University in Kazakhstan.
“This ‘molecular shield’ not only prevents IgE antibodies from being activated, but may also reduce inflammation through other mechanisms, such as calming immune cell responses and promoting regulatory pathways.”
Tabynov’s team injected mice with a dose of mugwort pollen and purified antibodies. A positive control group of mice were given a placebo, and a negative control group were given neither.
The results showed that mice given the antibodies displayed a major reduction in allergy symptoms compared to the positive and negative control groups.
Mice given the antibodies had less inflammation in their nostrils and lower levels of 2 inflammation-promoting molecules in the lung. The mice also rubbed their nose less and showed decreased ear swelling.
While the researchers concluded that it was the antibody from the XA19 cell line that effectively blocked the allergic reaction against the mugwort pollen, for now, this only applies to mice.
“Before this treatment can be tested in people, we need to adapt the antibody to make it suitable for humans – a process called ‘humanisation’ – and conduct additional preclinical safety and efficacy studies,” says Tabynov.
“If these are successful, and provided we have adequate support, we could begin clinical trials in 2 to 3 years, though bringing it to market would likely take 5 to 7 years”.
Due to changes in diet, pollution, lifestyle and other factors, hay fever cases are rising.
Previous research has also found that climate change is creating earlier and longer spring seasons which also extends the hay fever season.
This makes finding an effective treatment all the more important.
“This opens the door to a new generation of precision allergy treatments that are fast-acting, needle-free, and tailored to individual allergen sensitivities,” says Tabynov. “In the future, similar antibodies could be developed for other major pollen allergens, such as ragweed or grass.”
The study, published in Frontiers, was approved by the local Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, under the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan.