New hope for seasonal Allergy sufferers

Vienna (OTS) – (Vienna, 06-03-2019) Every third people plagued by an Allergy, caused by, for example, food, fungi, house dust mites, or seasonal due to Pollen. The latter are also the largest group: Around 800 million people worldwide suffer from some Form of an Allergy against Pollen, with the usual symptoms such as runny nose, cough, and serious breathing problems. In Austria, every Fifth has a pollen Allergy. Researchers at the MedUni Vienna have now set itself the target of camels to immunizing with pollen allergens, heavy single chain to win, antibodies for passive treatment of pollen allergies.

Why camels? „Camels have the rare property, to produce antibodies, which consist of only a chain,“ explains Sabine Flicker, head of the anti-body research group at the Institute of pathophysiology and Allergy research at the MedUni Vienna chains: „The isolated antibodies are to hinder the effectiveness of specific immunoglobulin E antibodies (IgE) to bind to allergens, and thus the triggering of an Allergy to pollen, tested.“

Usually allergens in an allergic reaction in contact with the awareness incurred IgE antibodies. This „arm“ of special cells, especially the mast cells. The allergens are taken again, they will bind to cell-bound IgE antibody and activating mast cells. This now put messengers that are responsible for the allergic inflammation and discomfort responsible for the Allergy is „born“.

The stop sign for the Allergy

In a new by the FWF and RFBR approved collaborative project with Sergei Tillib of the Russian Academy of Sciences, researchers will inject the inside of the MedUni Vienna under the leadership of Sabine Flicker of all the genes in camels, in order to immunize them. From the blood of the immunized camels with a powerful technology to be gained, the Nanobody technology, Allergen-chain-specific antibodies. This highly developed technology is used for the first Time for the production of Allergen-specific antibodies. It is hoped that a large number of specific single chain antibodies generate. Flicker: „The Nanobody technology thus represents a significant improvement of the previously used methods to gain recombinant monoclonal antibodies.“

„The single-chain antibody, we can produce as recombinant proteins in the laboratory and to its protective Potential to the test. Those are single-chain antibodies prevent IgE binding to allergens, to act practically as a stop sign for the Allergy,“ explains the MedUni Vienna researcher.

In eight to ten years, so the scientists could lead to these new findings to a local treatment (nasal spray, eye drops) against seasonal pollen allergies.

Medical University Of Vienna
Mag. Johannes Angerer
Head of communication and public Relations
+431 40160 – 11 501; mobile: +43 664 800 16 11 501
johannes.angerer@meduniwien.ac.at
http://www.meduni Vienna.ac.at