Molecular Allergology of Egg White Ovomucoid

摘要

Allergens could be altered by genetic modifications to reduce their ability to initiate an allergic reaction. Ovomucoid is a dominant allergen in hen's egg-white. In the present study, we investigated the efficacy of a genetic variant of ovomucoid (GMFA) to modulate the allergic response in mice and characterized the role of GMFA in desensitizing ovomucoid-sensitized mice. The results suggest that GMFA could suppress allergic reactions in mice and desensitization with GMFA in ovomucoid-sensitized mice, significantly decreased allergic symptoms and histamine levels, suppressed production of ovomucoid-specific IgE antibodies, and modulated the T cell response, when compared to a control group treated with intact ovomucoid. This study indicates that GMFA can be used to potentially provide targeted immunotherapy for egg-allergic patients.