Vaccines capable of preventing the onset of pollen allergies: this is what immunologist Pierre Bruhns and his colleagues from the public and private sectors are trying to develop. Ambitious research… soon to be tested in humans.
Although desensitization treatment makes it possible to better tolerate the pollens that cause seasonal rhinitis, it unfortunately does not cure. Also, to get rid of hay fever once and for all – and other types of allergies: to dust mites, to certain foods, etc. –, several teams of researchers around the world are trying to develop… anti-allergy vaccines!
Among these groups, that of Pierre Bruhns at the Pasteur Institute in Paris. “In collaboration with Laurent Reber’s team, at the Toulouse Institute of Infectious and Inflammatory Diseases (INFINITy), and the biotechnology company Neovacs, we are developing not one, but two vaccine candidates which could help treat a large part of allergic, permanently“, enthuses the researcher. To understand, let’s remember that allergies are associated with a abnormal production of particular immune molecules : IgE antibodies, which specifically recognize the incriminated pollen(s), and the interleukins IL-4 and IL-13, which promote the synthesis of these IgE. Hence the idea of developing “on the one hand, a vaccine capable of stimulating the production of antibodies specifically blocking IL-4 and -13; and, on the other hand, a product intended to promote the production of antibodies capable of neutralizing IgE“.
During work published in 2021 in the journal Nature Communications, the researchers tested the anti-IL-4 and IL-13 product in mice. And bingo! It induced a lasting production of antibodies directed specifically against IL-4 and IL-13: more than a year later, 60% of mice were still protected. “In humans, we believe that boosters will be needed every 2 or 5 years.“, estimates Pierre Bruhns. However, these encouraging results remain to be confirmed in patients. “Neovacs is in the process of developing suitable vaccine doses which could make it possible to launch a first clinical study as early as 2024“, confides the researcher. Called phase I, this trial will constitute the first of the four stages of clinical evaluation necessary for the marketing of a treatment. Normally expected to involve a few dozen people, it will aim to ensure that the product has no serious adverse effects and will analyze certain biological response criteria.
What are the risks ?
In fact, immunizing against IL-4 and -13 or IgE may not be completely risk-free… And for good reason: these molecules are also involved in the normal functioning of our immunity, and more specifically in the response against parasites. . Yes, but “monoclonal antibody treatments targeting IgE where the IL-4 and IL-13 pathways have already been used for several years in patients with severe asthma… However, no serious consequences have been reported to date“, retorts Pierre Bruhns. According to the researcher, if all goes well, the anti-IL-4 and IL-13 vaccine could be available in 2030.