Novel approach to specific allergy treatment developed.

2004 AUG 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The recombinant fusion protein of a bacterial cell surface (S-layer) protein and the major birch pollen allergen Bet v 1 (RSbsC-Bet v 1) combines reduced allergenicity with immunomodulating capacity.

According to a study from Austria, "Counterregulating the disease-eliciting Th2-like immune response of allergen-specific Th lymphocytes by fostering an allergen-specific Th1-like response is a promising concept for future immunotherapy of type I allergy. The use of recombinant allergens combined with more functional adjuvants has been proposed. In this respect, we present a novel approach."

"The gene sequence encoding the major birch pollen allergen, Bet v 1, was fused with the gene encoding the bacterial cell surface (S-layer) protein of Geobacillus stearothermophilus, resulting in the recombinant protein, rSbsC-Bet v 1," reported Barbara Bohle and collaborators at the Medical University of Vienna and the Ludwig Boltzmann-Institute for Molecular Nanotechnology. "rSbsC-Bet v 1 contained all relevant Bet v I-specific B and T cell epitopes, but was significantly less efficient to release histamine than rBet v 1."

"In cells of birch pollen-allergic individuals, rSbsC-Bet v 1 induced IFN-gamma along with IL-10, but no Th2-like response, as observed after stimulation with Bet v 1," stated Bohle and her colleagues. "Intracellular cytokine staining revealed that rSbsC-Bet v 1 promoted IFN-gamma-producing Th cells. Moreover, rSbsC-Bet v 1 induced ...