To re-educate the immune system
Food allergies have a variety of manifestations, from a relatively harmless skin rash or itching to a life-threatening anaphylactic shock. Nuts are one of the most common allergens.
In a study on mice conducted at Duke University, it was possible to reprogram the immune system and prevent the development of an allergic reaction to peanuts.
The authors of the study took as a basis the approach according to which allergy is the result of an imbalance of cytokines produced in T cells.
Cytokines, which are produced by T-helpers, are of two types: Th2-cytokines are drivers of a hyperimmune response when an allergen is ingested. Normally, they work together with Th1 cytokines, balancing each other's effects. But with an anaphylactic reaction, the production of cytokine Th2 is several times higher than Th1, and the role of the latter disappears.
The researchers suggested that if you increase the production of Th1 cytokines in T lymphocytes before contact with the allergen occurs, you will be able to create an equilibrium between the two types of cytokines and avoid a hyperimmune response.
It was not easy to put the theory into practice. An attempt to stimulate the production of Th1 own cytokines in mouse models of bronchial asthma was unsuccessful: too large a dose of the drug was needed to obtain the desired effect. At the same time, the result was still insufficient.
Then the researchers conducted another experiment. Mice with simulated peanut allergy were subcutaneously injected with nanoparticles containing allergen and Th1 cytokines. Nanoparticles delivered them to the lymph nodes, where T-lymphocytes are concentrated.
Animals that received such therapy did not develop an acute reaction in the form of anaphylactic shock upon repeated contact with the allergen. Resistance to the allergen persisted for a long time, there was no need to repeat therapy before each contact with the allergen.
Th1- and Th2-cytokines balance each other. Knowing that Th2 cytokines are responsible for the hyperimmune reaction, the researchers were able to achieve balance and "re-educate" the immune system by introducing Th1 cytokines with an allergen from the outside. As a result, it was possible to avoid her excessive response to repeated contact with the allergen.
This approach can be used to treat other types of allergies, for example, spring pollinosis.
For further study, it is necessary to conduct research with the participation of people.
Article by A. L. John et al. Reprogramming Immunity to Food Allergens is published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
Aminat Adzhieva, portal "Eternal Youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru Based on Duke Health: Animal Study Shows How to Retrain the Immune System to Ease Food Allergies.