In Nantes, researchers are developing a vaccine against dust mite allergy. Tests on asthmatic mice are very positive.
France has 4 million asthmatics according to the association Asthma & Allergies. For 70-80% of adults and for 95% of children, the cause is an allergy. That with dust mites is one of the possible origins of asthma. Desensitization (or immunotherapy) is starting to prove its worth against this type of allergy. But researchers from Nantes (Loire-Atlantique) want to go even further: they are developing a vaccine against this form of allergy!
A preventive vaccine
In recent work 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.… “
According to the head of the pneumology department at 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. We have therefore 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.
It eradicates 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.
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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