Prevention and Treatment of Food Allergy through STAT6-IP-Mediated Immunomodulation
Abstract
Food allergy is an important, potentially fatal, disease in both children and adults. The burden of illness for patients and families is significant, yet there has been little important advance in the treatment and management of this disease. Until recently, the study of food-induced allergy was limited, in part, by the lack of reasonable animal models, and many questions into mechanisms of sensitization and progression are still to be addressed. We have recently developed a mouse model of peanut anaphylaxis. We propose to treat our anaphylactic mice with a small protein, STAT6-IP, which inhibits STAT6, an important element of the allergic response, and determine if this treatment decreases or completely inhibits the development of anaphylaxis. Previous work with STAT6-IP has demonstrated significant relief of symptoms in a mouse model of asthma. We will study how STAT6-IP changes the immune response to food allergen in animals treated before or after they develop allergy. To extend these studies, we also propose to use blood samples from human donors with food allergies to study the effects of STAT6-IP treatment of blood cells and their subsequent responses to food allergens. This information will progress our goal to design and develop novel treatments for food allergy in children and adults.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Mar 29, 2016
- Source ID
- W81XWH1510587
Entities
People
- Christine Mccusker
Organizations
- McGill University Health Centre
- United States Army