Grass Peptide Compositions for Allergen Desensitization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current treatments for grass allergies, such as hay fever, often provide only symptomatic relief and can have serious side effects, and there is a need for a therapeutic approach that can specifically target and reduce the allergic-immune response without affecting reactivity to other antigens or triggering allergic reactions.
Innovation Solution
Development of peptide combinations that bind to Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) Class II molecules, specifically targeting T-cell epitopes from Timothy, Rye, and Bermuda grass allergens, which induce cytokine release with minimal histamine release, thereby providing tolerance and broad coverage against grass pollen allergies.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If desensitisation treatments involve periodic injection of allergen components or extracts, then an IgG response is induced that competes with IgE for allergen, but serious side effects are provoked including general anaphylactic shock
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts only the T-cell epitopic peptides from the complete allergen molecules. These peptides lack the B-cell epitopes responsible for IgE production and allergic reactions, yet retain the ability to induce tolerising T-cell responses. This extraction resolves the contradiction by maintaining treatment effectiveness while eliminating the harmful allergic side effects.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention segments the allergen proteins into specific peptide fragments (15-30 amino acids) that correspond to T-cell epitopes. By using these segmented peptide components rather than whole allergen molecules, the treatment can selectively target T-cell responses without triggering the IgE-mediated allergic pathways, thus achieving effectiveness without harmful side effects.
2Ease of operation
If conventional treatments use anti-histamines, β2 agonists, and glucocorticosteroids, then symptomatic relief is provided, but the allergic-immune response is not specifically targeted
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses peptide antigens as intermediaries that specifically engage T-cells through MHC class II presentation. These peptide intermediaries selectively modulate the allergic immune response by inducing tolerising regulatory T-cells, providing both symptomatic relief and specific immune targeting unlike conventional non-specific medications.
3Reliability
If a therapeutic treatment decreases or eliminates the unwanted allergic-immune response to a particular allergen, then benefit is provided to allergic individuals, but the immune reactivity to other foreign antigens may be altered
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts only the specific T-cell epitopic peptides from the allergen that are responsible for triggering the allergic T-cell response. By targeting only these specific peptide sequences and not the entire allergen structure, the treatment selectively modulates responsiveness to that particular allergen while preserving the immune system's ability to recognize and respond to other foreign antigens through their own distinct epitopes.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The peptide combinations effectively desensitize individuals to grass allergens, reducing allergic responses in a significant portion of the population with minimal side effects, offering a promising treatment for grass pollen allergies by inducing tolerance and reducing symptoms.
Implementation Method 1
T-cell antigen recognition requires antigen presenting cells (APCs) to present antigen fragments (peptides) on their cell surface in association with molecules of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC)
Implementation Method 2
The peptides of the invention were selected as MHC class II-binding T cell epitopes through use of in silico analysis to predict peptide-MHC interactions and MHC class II binding assays. Additional epitopes were identified by homology. Peptides and peptide combinations of the invention were further selected on the basis of in vitro T cell response assays
Implementation Method 3
The peptide combinations are selected from an extensive analysis of grass epitope sequences to identify core peptides having particularly good MHC binding properties and cytokine response profiles in grass allergic individuals. The combinations may comprise a core of three such peptides, one of each being selected from the most prevalent grasses, Timothy, Perennial Rye and Bermuda
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to compositions comprising peptides for preventing or treating allergy to house dust mites, and in particular to optimal combinations of peptides for preventing or treating said allergy.