One could find another option to treat peanut allergies soon. Immunologists at the University of California, Los Angeles, have developed a nanoparticle to help one with peanut allergies.
Nanoparticle to Prevent, Treat Peanut Allergies
At present, there is only one approved solution to treat severe reactions from peanuts. Unfortunately, it could take months to kick in.
However, a new option has been discovered. The immunologists from UCLA created the first-of-its-kind nanoparticle that delivers mRNA to specific cells in the liver and helps the body tolerate proteins from peanuts.
The nanoparticle was tested in mice subjects, and the researchers noticed that it not only reversed allergies but prevented their development, according to Phys.org.
Dr. André Nel, the co-corresponding author of the study and a UCLA distinguished professor of medicine and director of research at the California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA, noted that as far as he is aware, mRNA has never been utilized to treat an allergy condition. Their study demonstrated that the platform could reduce the symptoms of peanut allergies, and they think it could do the same for other allergies to foods, medications, and autoimmune diseases.
The liver was the subject of special attention for the researchers for two reasons. First, the organ does not respond to every challenge because it is frequently exposed to foreign chemicals, including allergens. Second, it is home to antigen-presenting cells, which gather foreign proteins and teach the immune system to tolerate them rather than fight them when they are discovered.
In 2021, they discovered that animals with severe egg allergy had fewer symptoms after being given a nanoparticle that delivered a precisely chosen protein fragment, known as an epitope, to the liver.
The following year, they discovered one epitope that, when given to mice's livers via a nanoparticle, reduced their sensitivity to peanuts.
These epitopes are anticipated to be safer as a component of treatment because they omit the portion of the peanut or egg protein that causes allergies.
According to Nel, an immunological mechanism puts a damper on reactions to all of the other pieces. If you're lucky enough to identify the precise epitope." By doing so, you may manage a large group of epitopes involved in the disease.
Nanoparticle With mRNA Increased Tolerance for Peanut Protein
Similar to how mRNA vaccines for SARS-CoV-2 encode the complete spike protein of the virus, the researchers engineered a portion of the mRNA payload in the upgraded nanoparticle to encode the chosen epitope or epitopes-in this case, the peanut protein fragment found in a prior investigation. Utilizing mRNA simplifies loading the nanoparticle and removes the difficulties associated with incorporating more than one epitope, a benefit that could broaden the use. For instance, numerous epitopes may be required to treat specific or multiple allergies.
The researchers administered their improved nanoparticle to six mice in two doses, separated by a week, to test whether it would prevent peanut allergies. Six further animals received the upgraded nanoparticle with mRNA inside that did not code for any protein or epitope, six additional mice received the enhanced nanoparticle with no targeting sugar on its surface, and a final group of six mice received no nanoparticle at all. To make the mice more sensitive to the peanut allergens, scientists began giving the mice a crude peanut protein extract one week following the second treatment. They subjected the mice to peanut protein for another week to cause anaphylactic shock.
While more severe symptoms manifested in the control group receiving no treatment and the group receiving a targeted nanoparticle with noncoding mRNA, mice pretreated with the improved nanoparticle displayed lower symptoms than those without targeting sugar.
The experiment was repeated, but the steps were carried out in a different order, sensitizing the mice to peanut protein before administering the nanoparticle. Once more, the improved nanoparticle functioned better than a comparable one without the targeting sugar. Both produced fewer side effects in mice than the researchers saw in mice who received either no treatment or a nanoparticle with noncoding mRNA.
Scientists examined the quantities of particular immune cells, antibodies, enzymes, and cytokines in both iterations of the experiment to confirm that the enhanced nanoparticle had improved the animals' tolerance for peanut protein.
Nel predicts that the nanoparticle might enter clinical trials in three years if additional lab tests are successful. He said that replacing an mRNA payload coding for alternative epitopes gives up the possibility of adapting the nanoparticle for other allergies and autoimmune illnesses.
His group will soon begin the regulatory process required to test the method for peanut allergies in clinical trials.
The study was published in ACS Nano.
RELATED ARTICLE : Efficacy of Intranasal Flu Vaccine with Nanoparticles Can Help in the Fight Against Influenza Virus
Check out more news and information on Nanotechnology in Science Times.
