Mimotopes For The Investigation And Therapy Of Allergic Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$203,296.00
Summary
10% of children now use regular asthma medication. The current treatments dampen allergic inflammation but 25% of asthmatic children, all under high medication, need multiple visits to the doctor, emergency treatment or hospitalisation,. Immunotherapy has, since 1911, used repeated injections of allergens. The end result has often been successful and lasting but the response has been unpredictable and requires years of multi-injection treatment. The challenge is to develop effective, applicable ....10% of children now use regular asthma medication. The current treatments dampen allergic inflammation but 25% of asthmatic children, all under high medication, need multiple visits to the doctor, emergency treatment or hospitalisation,. Immunotherapy has, since 1911, used repeated injections of allergens. The end result has often been successful and lasting but the response has been unpredictable and requires years of multi-injection treatment. The challenge is to develop effective, applicable immunotherapy which, like vaccines use few injections. Mimotopes provide a new opportunity. Studying the parts of the allergens recognized by the immune system (epitopes) can reveal important phenomena undetectable with whole allergens; and single epitopes may be a powerful avenue to effective immunotherapy. The therapy can be targeted to a selected arm of the immune system for maximal effect and the immediate side effects induced by cross linking antibodies with two epitopes can be avoided. Allergens interact with two types of lymphocyte, the T and B cells. T-cell epitopes can be easily studied because they comprise short regions of proteins which can be synthesized. B-cell (and antibody) epitopes are shapes formed by the interaction of several parts of a protein which cannot be represented by a simple sequence. The mimotope technology uses random peptides to obtain a shape which mimics the B-cell epitope. Here mimotopes will be produced and used to study the common specificities recognized in allergic responses to house dust mite allergens to develop new types of therapy. Importantly recent information shows that B-cell epitopes can be used to modify both T and B-cell function.Read moreRead less
The main purpose of this study is to understand how airborne fungi affect asthmatics who are allergic to them. Fungi or moulds release large numbers of spores into the air that are inhaled. In many cases fungal spores outnumber other particles that carry allergen, such as pollens or cat dander, by 100 to 1. This makes fungi the most common potential allergen in the environment. Fungi have been associated with respiratory diseases including fungal sinusitis, asthma, rhinitis, allergic alveolitis ....The main purpose of this study is to understand how airborne fungi affect asthmatics who are allergic to them. Fungi or moulds release large numbers of spores into the air that are inhaled. In many cases fungal spores outnumber other particles that carry allergen, such as pollens or cat dander, by 100 to 1. This makes fungi the most common potential allergen in the environment. Fungi have been associated with respiratory diseases including fungal sinusitis, asthma, rhinitis, allergic alveolitis and sick building syndrome. Largely due to their diversity and complexity, allergenic fungi have not been well studied and the ways in which individuals vary when inhaling spores is not known. Unlike other allergenic particles, it is unlikely that fungal spores release their allergen as soon as they are inhaled because we have shown in earlier in vitro studies that fungi continue to release allergen over time and this is likely to be the case when they are inhaled. Our laboratory has developed two new techniques that allow us to measure how many spores people inhale and whether they are allergic to them. This study will use these tools to detect and identify the important allergenic fungi involved in domestic and outdoor exposure of asthmatics, the degree of contribution to the total allergen load to which subjects are exposed and identify in what conditions fungi are the causal agents in location-specific symptoms. This study will also investigate allergen production of fungi in situ in the human nose, which will have application in allergic sinusitis and asthma amongst other respiratory diseases. We will investigate how readily allergenic spores germinate in the nose and under what conditions they release allergen.Read moreRead less
Identification And Characterisation Of HLA-E Restricted Influenza A Virus-specific CD8+ T Cells
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$354,156.00
Summary
With seasonal epidemics and the continual threat of a pandemic, there is an urgent need for a one-shot universal vaccine that protects against different influenza strains. This can potentially be achieved by the activation of killer T cells. I will identify new virus targets presented by a highly conserved human protein. Killer T cell recognition of these targets may provide a unique opportunity to develop an improved vaccine.
Bio-molecular Studies For Improved Diagnosis And Management Of Australian Children With Fish Allergy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$496,602.00
Summary
Allergy to fish among children is often life-long and emerging as a significant healthcare issue worldwide, while management of fish allergy is challenging due to the lack of reliable diagnostic assays. This research grant will lead to the development of novel diagnostics for fish allergy in Australia, addressing aspects of the worldwide food allergy epidemic and forms the ideal platform for the study of fish specific allergens, generating novel knowledge for greatly improved patient management.