UNC School of Medicine Launches Innovative Effort to Block Life-Threatening Peanut Allergic Reactions

Researchers hope to create a therapy that reduces the fear, anxiety and lifestyle limitations associated with peanut allergy.

A research team at the UNC School of Medicine has received a $3.5 million federal grant to develop a long-lasting, safer treatment for peanut allergy. The condition is one of the most common and potentially life-threatening food allergies in the United States.

Peanut allergy affects an estimated 2% of the U.S. population. For UNC School of Medicine's Mike Kulis, PhD, it's personal. He has experienced the reality of the allergy firsthand and has dedicated 20 years to researching therapies to target the condition.

"I live with both peanut and tree nut allergies, and my 7-year-old son has peanut and egg allergies," said Kulis. "I am hopeful there will be a variety of therapeutic options for those with food allergies in the coming years, so that we can lessen the fear and anxiety we often experience."

A new therapy approach

For many children and adults, even tiny amounts of peanut can trigger a severe reaction called anaphylaxis, which can be life-threatening and requires immediate treatment with an EpiPen. Because of this risk, families often live with constant worry, strict food avoidance and major lifestyle limitations.

Current FDA-approved treatments, including oral immunotherapy and an injectable antibody drug, can help some patients but have critical drawbacks:

• Oral immunotherapy requires daily dosing and frequently causes allergic reactions during treatment.
• The injectable drug must be given indefinitely and does not change the underlying allergic response.

To address these limitations, Kulis and his collaborators are taking a different approach. The newly funded project, led by Kulis and in collaboration with Johanna Smeekens, PhD, assistant professor of pediatrics at the UNC School of Medicine; M.G. Finn, PhD, Regents' professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Georgia Institute of Technology; and Brian Vickery, MD, professor and chief of Allergy & Immunology at Emory School of Medicine, will build on promising early results from a prior National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) grant.

In that work, the team used tiny, noninfectious particles called virus-like particles (VLPs) to display small pieces (peptides) of a key peanut protein known as Ara h 2. When these VLPs were given to mice along with a clinical-grade immune booster (adjuvant), the animals developed strong protective antibody responses and did not become allergic to peanuts. In mice that were already allergic to peanuts, the treatment shifted the immune system away from allergy and toward protection. The new grant will allow the team to expand this approach and move it closer to human clinical trials.

"The overall goal of this project is to develop a new method for the immune system to produce protective responses to peanut," said Kulis. "Specifically, we aim to generate IgG antibodies focused on small segments, called peptide epitopes, of the major peanut allergens to prevent allergic reactions. We will use virus-like particles (VLPs) as a scaffold to display the peptides that will stimulate the immune system to make protective IgG antibodies."

New possibilities in peanut allergy protection

By the end of the project, researchers expect to have one or more leading candidates for a new peanut allergy therapy, with a clear understanding of how it works and supporting data to prepare for a first-in-human clinical trial.

"Our vision is to provide proof of concept using peanut allergy as a model, then expand to other food allergies such as egg, milk, cashew, and shrimp," said Kulis. "Ultimately, we hope to have a therapy that can make lasting changes to the underlying immune responses that make a person allergic to peanut or other foods."

This work is supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health.

Media Contact: Brittany Phillips, Communications Specialist, UNC Health | UNC School of Medicine