Microneedle approach to address peanut allergy shows promise in mice
The novel immunotherapy had increased rates of desensitization to peanut
Date:
March 4, 2022
Source:
Michigan Medicine - University of Michigan
Summary:
Mice that received treatments with peanut-coated microneedles had
significant increased rates of desensitization to peanut allergy
compared with epicutaneous immunotherapy (EPIT), a new study
found. The microneedle treatment success was achieved despite
applying a dose of peanut protein 10-times lower than the dose
delivered by EPIT.
Researchers say the findings demonstrate the potential for peanut
microneedles to improve food allergen immunotherapy through
the skin.
FULL STORY ========================================================================== Treating peanut allergy with microneedles could significantly improve desensitization by directly targeting the allergen to the skin, providing greater protection from severe allergic reactions for millions of people,
a new study suggests.
========================================================================== Investigators at Michigan Medicine, in collaboration with researchers from Moonlight Therapeutics, tested a dermal stamp containing peanut-coated microneedles on mice by applying it to the skin for five minutes once a
week over five weeks. They compared that to mice receiving epicutaneous immunotherapy, which involves wearing a patch on the skin for 24 hours
over the same time period.
The results, published in Immunotherapy, reveal mice that received the
five weekly microneedle treatments had significant increased rates of desensitization to peanut allergy compared with EPIT, which required
two months of treatment to achieve protection. The microneedle treatment success was achieved despite applying a dose of peanut protein 10-times
lower than the dose delivered by EPIT.
"While our pre-clinical results are from studies in animal models,
they demonstrate the potential for peanut microneedles to improve food
allergen immunotherapy through the skin," said Jessica O'Konek, Ph.D.,
senior author of the paper and research assistant professor at the Mary
H. Weiser Food Allergy Center at Michigan Medicine. "Treatment options
for food allergy are limited, so there is a lot of motivation for the development of novel therapeutics. It will be exciting to watch the
clinical development of this technology," she said.
Around 6 million Americans have a peanut allergy, with symptoms
that can range from mild hives to potentially fatal anaphylactic
reactions. Currently, orally administered immunotherapy is the only
treatment for peanut allergy approved by the United States Food and
Drug Administration. However, it requires that patients follow a strict long-term protocol for ingesting each dose.
EPIT has been demonstrated to be safe in clinical trials, but the
treatment showed variability in efficacy. O'Konek believes this could
be due to the barrier provided by the skin surface, which may limit the
amount of allergen taken up by the body. Targeted delivery of peanut
protein with microneedle patches may offer more controlled delivery
of allergen.
"This is a very interesting technology that could provide a unique method
to desensitize people with food allergies," said James R. Baker, Jr.,
M.D., co- author of the paper and director of the Mary H. Weiser Food
Allergy Center.
"These successful animal results argue for further development of this platform." Additional authors include: Mary H. Weiser Food Allergy
Center: Jeffrey Landers, Katarzyna Janczak; Akhilesh Kumar Shakya &
Harvinder Singh Gill, Texas Tech University Department of Chemical
Engineering; Vladimir Zarnitsyn & Samirkumar R. Patel, Moonlight
Therapeutics, Inc.
The microneedle device used in the study was based on the proprietary
treatment platform TASIS (Targeted Allergen-Specific Immunotherapy within
the Skin) developed by Atlanta-based Moonlight Therapeutics.
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National
Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases under award numbers
R42AI143011 and R01AI135197.
Gill and Shakya are co-inventors on a patent related to coated
microneedles for allergen immunotherapy. Moonlight Therapeutics is
pursuing this technology for developing microneedles for peanut and other
food allergy immunotherapies. Gill and Shakya have equity in Moonlight Therapeutics. Patel and Zarnitsyn are employees of Moonlight Therapeutics
and have equity in the company.
========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
Michigan_Medicine_-_University_of_Michigan. Original written by Noah
Fromson. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Jeffrey J Landers, Katarzyna W Janczak, Akhilesh Kumar Shakya,
Vladimir
Zarnitsyn, Samirkumar R Patel, James R Baker Jr, Harvinder Singh
Gill, Jessica J O'Konek. Targeted allergen-specific immunotherapy
within the skin improves allergen delivery to induce desensitization
to peanut.
Immunotherapy, 2022; DOI: 10.2217/imt-2021-0206 ==========================================================================
Link to news story:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220304112016.htm
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