Researchers from Nantes are developing a vaccine against dust mite allergy. Tested on asthmatic mice the results are very conclusive.
- Asthma has an allergic cause in 95% of children
- After vaccination, the asthmatic phenotype of mice disappeared
- Human trials within 5 to 7 years
According to the association Asthma & Allergies, there would be more than 4 million asthmatics in France. In 70 to 80% of adults, and 95% of children with asthma, there is an allergic cause. Asthma can be caused in particular by an allergy to dust mites.
While desensitization (or immunotherapy) is starting to prove its worth against this type of allergy, French researchers want to go even further. A vaccine could soon see the light of day!
Disappearance of the asthmatic phenotype
In works published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology scientists from the Thorax Institute at Nantes University Hospital explain having administered to mice made asthmatic (and allergic to mites) a specific peptide, a small part of a mite antigen. This vaccine is “for preventive purposes”, underlines Professor Antoine Magnan, main author of the study contacted by Why actor.
Professor Antoine Magnan, researcher at Inserm: ” This type of vaccination would be interesting in children at risk, with parents allergic to dust mites.… “
And according to the head of the pneumology department at the Nantes University Hospital the experience would have been conclusive. “At the same time we made the mouse allergic, we gave him the vaccine. And it worked. The onset of the allergy was prevented. The result is that the asthmatic phenotype of this mouse disappears after the administration of this peptide. “
He adds: “In mice we have succeeded in completely suppressing the reactivity of the airways (bronchi). The effect is complete, there is nothing more. So we have not only seen a decrease in asthma. This is perhaps the most interesting. ”
Last satisfactory point according to the author of this research, there would be no side effects. “This is a small part of the mite protein so there is no risk of triggering an allergic reaction,” he reassures.
Effective on all mites
According to the doctor, this vaccine could put an end to the current immunotherapy (by subcutaneous or sublingual route) since in two bites the animals were protected during several months. But “in practice, in humans, we do not yet know the duration of protection,” he says.
More interestingly, this vaccine would work on the two main types of mites to which all allergics are sensitive. “Dermatophagoïdes pteronyssinus” and “dermatophagoïdes farinae” are indeed the species of mites most present in house dust. As an idea, a mattress can contain nearly two million dust mites, and we can find up to 2000 dust mites per gram of dust.
Human trials in a few years
Before the start of trials on humans, we will have to be patient, because “we still have to carry out tests on animals”, confides Professor Magnan. However, he hopes to be able to include the first patients “maybe within 5-7 years, in less than 10 years anyway”.
Professor Antoine Magnan : ” This project is a collaboration with Austrian researchers (…) We know that this peptide is a good candidate for clinical use. “
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