About 4 million people in France suffer from asthma, a chronic disease which evolves by “crises” and which is characterized by coughing, shortness of breath, wheezing, a feeling of chest tightness…
In 50% of cases, asthma is of allergic origin: the inflammation of the bronchial tubes and the respiratory symptoms are caused by the inhalation of allergens – dust mites, most often. Exposure to allergens triggers the body to overproduce antibodies (immunoglobulin E or IgE) and proteins (type 2 cytokines, in particular the interleukins IL-4 and IL-13) in the airways. And this phenomenon leads to hyperreactivity of the airways, overproduction of mucus and too high a rate of white blood cells in the airways (eosinophilia).
If, for many patients, allergic asthma can be controlled using corticosteroid drugs (inhaled), in the most severe cases, this treatment is insufficient: therapeutic monoclonal antibodies must be used (in injection), very constraining and expensive.
A vaccine effective for at least 3 months in mice
Precisely: to make life easier for these asthmatic patients, researchers from Inserm and the Institut Pasteur, in collaboration with the French company NEOVACS, are developing a new vaccine.
First tested (successfully) in mice, this new vaccine would also be capable of neutralizing human IL-4 and IL-13 cytokines up to (at least) 3 months after injection. In animals, this new vaccine led to a real improvement in the symptoms of allergic asthma with, in particular, a reduction in the production of mucus and hyperreactivity of the respiratory tract.
“This study provides proof of concept of the efficacy of the vaccine in neutralizing human proteins that play a key role in allergic asthma. (…) We are currently discussing with all the partners of the project to set up these studies in humans.” concluded Inserm research director Laurent Reber. To be continued, then!
Source :Inserm
