Nanoparticle with mRNA appears to prevent, treat peanut allergies in mice

Peanut allergies affect 1 in 50 children, and the most severe cases lead to a potentially deadly immune reaction called anaphylactic shock.

Currently, there is only one approved treatment that reduces the severity of the allergic reaction, and it takes months to kick in. A group of UCLA immunologists is aiming to change that.

Taking inspiration from COVID-19 vaccines as well as their own research on the disease, they created a first-of-its-kind nanoparticle – so small it's measured in billionths of a meter – that delivers mRNA to specific cells in the liver. Those cells, in turn, teach the body's natural defenses to tolerate peanut proteins.

In testing in mice, the nanoparticle not only reversed peanut allergies, but also prevented them from developing.

"As far as we can find, mRNA has never been used for an allergic disease," said Dr. André Nel, the paper's co-corresponding author, a UCLA distinguished professor of medicine and director of research at the California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA. "We've shown that our platform can work to calm peanut allergies, and we believe it may be able to do the same for other allergens, in food and drugs, as well as autoimmune conditions.".

Image source: Nel Lab/UCLA.