Scientists have developed a nasal “molecular shield” that disarms pollen, blocking allergic reactions fast without the use of drugs. This non-invasive method to effectively silence hay fever could be a game changer for the roughly 81 million Americans currently in a lifelong battle with airborne allergens.
Scientists from the Kazakh National Agrarian Research University (KazNARU) have developed a monoclonal antibody that, when delivered into the nose, delivers a preemptive strike, blocking pollen from having any effect. While this novel treatment was developed to combat mugwort pollen – a leading hay fever allergen in Europe and Asia – the researchers say their blueprint can be used to target any species.
“This is the first time a monoclonal antibody designed to block a specific pollen allergen has been delivered directly into the nose, and been shown to protect against allergy symptoms in the upper and lower airways,” said senior author Kaissar Tabynov, a professor, and the director of the International Center for Vaccinology at KazNARU. “In the future, similar antibodies could be developed for other major pollen allergens, such as ragweed or grass. This opens the door to a new generation of precision allergy treatments that are fast-acting, needle-free, and tailored to individual allergen sensitivities.”
In people with hay fever, the immune system mistakes harmless pollen as a dangerous invader. When exposed, the body produces an antibody known as Immunoglobulin E (IgE), which binds to the allergen and triggers immune cells to release histamine and other chemicals. This, as any sufferer will be acutely aware of, triggers sneezing, runny nose, itchy eyes and even asthma. In this study on mice, a lab-made monoclonal antibody instead binds to the pollen’s protein and blocks it from interacting with IgE, preventing the typical allergic reaction.
What’s more, this “molecular shield” antibody can be applied to the inside of the nasal cavity, blocking any reaction to the pollen at the site of entry. This means it’s non-invasive, quick to act and blocks symptoms from even developing. Until now, antibody intervention has traditionally required injections into the bloodstream.
“Our method acts immediately and locally at the lining of the nose, by neutralizing the allergen on contact,” said Tabynov. “This ‘molecular shield’ not only prevents IgE antibodies from being activated, but may also reduce inflammation through other mechanisms, such as calming immune cell responses and promoting regulatory pathways.”
According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, around 81 million Americans have some sort of reaction to the environment around them that triggers hay fever (rhinitis) or asthma symptoms. And it’s on the rise, which scientists attribute to a range of factors including pollution, diet, antiseptics and antibiotics. Anyone who suffers from hay fever will know that current treatments – like over-the-counter antihistamines – can help dial down the body’s response to allergens, but they don’t silence it completely.
In the study, mice were injected with the allergen (mugwort pollen), which triggered the production of antibodies to fight it. These antibodies in white blood cells were then isolated and combined with lab-grown cancer cells – yes, cancer cells – to develop a cell line that secreted a single type of antibody against the pollen. Of the five cell lines this experiment produced, one – known as XA19 – showed superior pollen-fighting power.
When XA19 antibodies were inserted into the nose of mice with pollen sensitivity, further testing showed a massive reduction in inflammation biomarkers and behaviors typically seen in rodents with allergic reactions to the irritant. It also significantly reduced lung inflammation, suggesting that this locally applied antibody could block further reactions like pollen-triggered asthma.
Now, obviously this has only been tested on mice, but the researchers are confident that the mechanism itself is transferrable to humans, and adaptable to other species of pollen. While the timeline may seem lengthy, having a hay fever fix within a decade seems reasonable if you’ve been in a lifelong battle with allergies.
“Before this treatment can be tested in people, we need to adapt the antibody to make it suitable for humans – a process called ‘humanization,’” said Tabynov. “We could begin clinical trials in two to three years, though bringing it to market would likely take five to seven years. We are already planning for this transition and working on scaling up production.”
The research was published in the journal Frontiers in Immunology.
Source: Kazakh National Agrarian Research University via Scimex
