For an estimated 4.2 million children living with peanut allergies, the slightest trace of peanut and peanut ingredients could have fatal consequences.
For an estimated 4.2 million children living with peanut allergies, the slightest trace of peanut and peanut ingredients could have fatal consequences. The allergy is the result of allergens binding with an antibody called immunoglobulin E (IgE) on the surface of immune cells, setting off a complex chain reaction that could lead to a response ranging in severity from a rash to anaphylactic shock.
Now, in a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers at the University of Notre Dame have effectively prevented the binding of peanut allergens with IgE to suppress the allergic reaction to peanuts using a first-in-class design of allergen-specific inhibitors.
“The success of this study is exciting because it opens the door to establishing an entirely new class of allergy therapeutics,” said Basar Bilgicer, associate professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and affiliate of Advanced Diagnostics and Therapeutics at Notre Dame, who led the study. “We now have the first functional example of selective IgE inhibition to a food allergen, which we haven’t had before.”
Read more at University of Notre Dame
Photo: Basar Bilgicer chats with graduate students. Photo by Matt Cashore/University of Notre Dame.
