New Gene Therapy To 'Turn Off' Asthma And Food Allergies

Asthma is a condition in which your airways narrow and swell and produce extra mucus. This can make breathing difficult and trigger coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath. For some people, asthma is a minor nuisance. For others, it can be a major problem that interferes with daily activities and may lead to a life-threatening asthma attack. Asthma can't be cured, but its symptoms can be controlled.

Scientists have now discovered a DNA switch which can 'turn off' our reaction to allergies, an advance that may lead to gene therapies providing life-long protection from diseases like asthma with a single treatment.

Researchers from The University of Queensland (UQ) in Australia were able to switch off the immune response which causes allergic reaction in animals. "When someone has an allergy or asthma flare-up, the symptoms they experience results from immune cells reacting to protein in the allergen," said Ray Steptoe, Associate Professor at the UQ Diamantina Institute.

According to the experts the challenge in asthma and allergies is that these immune cells, known as T-cells, develop a form of immune 'memory' and become very resistant to treatments. "We have now been able 'wipe' the memory of these T-cells in animals with gene therapy, de-sensitising the immune system so that it tolerates the protein," he said.

"Our work used an experimental asthma allergen, but this research could be applied to treat those who have severe allergies to peanuts, bee venom, shell fish and other substances," he added.

The next step being to replicate results using human cells in the laboratory. The eventual goal would be a single injected gene therapy, replacing short-term treatments that target allergy symptoms with varying degrees of effectiveness as it is found to be safer and a simpler way to provide relief to people suffering from asthma as well as those who have severe allergies to peanuts, bee venom, shell fish and other substances.

(With inputs from PTI)