Engineering T cells to treat allergies

Allergic disease prevalence has been increasing at an alarming rate and carry a significant clinical and economic burden upon patients and society. IgE is a key player in immediate allergic reactions and hence a major target for next-generation anti-allergy therapies. We have designed chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells that are intended to prevent and cure allergies by eliminating IgE-expressing cells. Our design proved successful in in vitro studies, eliminating a cell line expressing IgE . Our next challenge is to demonstrate the efficacy of our approach in a transgenic mouse model , that expresses human IgE. We shall induce Ova allergy in these mice, and expect to prove efficacy of our treatment in preventing the development of allergy and induction of a life threatening allergic reaction (anaphylaxis). We are full of hope to provide a novel treatment approach for safe, long-term elimination of IgE that should prevent and cure life-threatening allergies