Role of targeted inhibitors in curing peanut allergy

1. ROLE OF TARGETED INHIBITORS
IN CURING PEANUT ALLERGY :
SELECTIVE IGE INHIBITION
PRESENTED BY: UMAIMA OMAR

2. PROBLEM STATEMENT
“To determine whether food allergen-
specific inhibitors would stop
degranulation, the primary driver of life-
threatening allergic reactions, without
putting the patients' immune system or
their health at risk.”

3. OBJECTIVE
• Outlining the hypothesis behind using food allergen-specific inhibitors for
treating peanut allergies.
• Review a normal person’s reaction to allergen proteins versus a person suffering
from food allergy and effect of the degranulation on a person’s immune system.
• Examining results of allergen-specific inhibitors on a set of people suffering from
allergies.

4. SIGNIFICANCE OF RESEARCH
• About 0.6 – 1.0 % of people have peanut allergy.
• For an estimated 4.2 million children living with
peanut allergies, the slightest trace of peanut and
peanut ingredients could have fatal consequences.
• The prevalence of peanut allergy doubled from
1997 to 2002.
• The reported increase in peanut allergy mirrors an
overall increase in childhood allergies.

5. FOOD ALLERGIES
• A food allergy is a medical condition in which exposure to a food triggers a harmful immune
response.
• The immune response, called an allergic reaction, occurs because the immune system attacks
proteins in the food that are normally harmless. The proteins that trigger the reaction are called
allergens.’
PEANUT ALLERGY?
• The major proteins Ara h1, Ara h2, and Ara h3 are the allergens in peanuts.
• Result of allergens binding with an antibody called immunoglobulin E (IgE) on the surface of
immune cells, releasing granules such as histamine, which is the first and most critical step in a
patient's allergic reaction.
• It is critical to manage peanut allergies, as with any allergy, to avoid severe reactions, such as
“anaphylaxis.”

7. SYMPTOMS
• Runny nose.
• Skin reactions, such as hives, redness or
swelling.
• Itching or tingling in or around the mouth and
throat.
• Digestive problems, such as diarrhea, stomach
cramps, nausea or vomiting.
• Tightening of the throat.
• Shortness of breath or wheezing.
• Anaphylaxis

8. LIMITATIONS OF IGE INHIBITORS
• IgE and allergens bind on the immune cells and
set off a series of chemical reactions.
• An inhibitor that targets IgE can lead to
widespread immune suppression, which studies
have shown can cause an increase in parasitic
infection and even cancer.

9. SELECTIVE IGE INHIBITION
• Belgicer led a study regarding IgE Inhibition
• The challenge was developing an inhibitor that is
designed to specifically inhibit the binding of IgE and
the allergen proteins without interfering with any other
immune system functions.
• Food allergen-specific inhibitors would stop
degranulation, the primary driver of life-threatening
allergic reactions, without putting the patients' immune
system or their health at risk.

10. SELECTIVE IGE INHIBITION BY CHBI
• They used nanoparticles, called nanoallergens, to screen and identify the key binding sites on
peanut proteins that patients IgE antibodies recognize by studying samples from a small
population of patients with severe allergies to peanuts.
• That was significant, Bilgicer said, because "it seems only a few sites seem to be exceptionally
critical in driving the allergic response."
• Once identified, Bilgicer's team synthesized a specialized inhibitor, called covalent
heterobivalent inhibitor (cHBI), to prevent IgE from binding to the peanut protein.

11. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
• I will select 100 patients suffering from peanut Allergy either mild or severe in order to
analyze the effectiveness of covalent heterobivalent inhibitor (cHBI) against the protein
allergens.
• The use of ImmunoCAP, a serologic test, can be both diagnostic and prognostic as a peanut-
specific serum IgE level of 15 kUA/L or higher has a 95% predictive value for an allergic
reaction on ingestion of peanut.
• Once diagnosed I will use nanoparticles, called nanoallergens, to screen and identify the key
binding sites on peanut proteins that patient IgE antibodies recognize.
• Once identified, covalent heterobivalent inhibitor (cHBI) is given to the patient and results are
analyzed.

12. RESULTS
• The cHBIs were successful in inhibiting an allergic response
in up to 90 percent of all samples.
• We now have the first functional example of selective IgE
inhibition to a food allergen, which we haven't had before.
• The success of this study is exciting because it opens the
door to establishing an entirely new class of allergy
therapeutics.

13. REFERENCES
• https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-04-functional-inhibitors-peanut-allergens.html
• http://www.peanut-institute.org/eating-well/allergy/quick-facts.asp
• https://www.foodallergy.org/life-with-food-allergies/food-allergy-101/facts-and-statistics
• https://aacijournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1710-1492-4-4-139