Reduced anaphylactic potential of denatured pullulan-conjugated Cry j 1

Japanese Cedar (JC) pollinosis is the most common seasonal allergic rhinitis in Japan. Throughout the JC pollen season, patients suffer from the allergic symptoms, resulting in a reduction of quality of life. Allergy immunotherapy (AIT) is an established treatment option for a wide range of allergens that unlike symptomatic treatments (e.g. antihistamines) may provide sustained immune tolerance. However, AIT, especially subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) has a fatal anaphylaxis risk due to the use of crude allergen extracts. Consequently, development of allergen derivatives with substantially reduced anaphylactic potential is desirable. An allergen derivative that showed reduced IgE-binding and anaphylactic potential was developed through conjugation of native Cry j 1 (n Cry j 1), a major JC allergen, to the polysaccharide pullulan followed by chemical but non-covalent denaturation. The resulting Cry j 1 allergen derivative, Dn p-Cry j 1, showed reduced IgE-binding and IgE-mediated effector cell activation in vitro using an ELISA competition assay and a mast cell activation model (EXiLE). Reduced anaphylactic potential of Dn p-Cry j 1 in vivo was demonstrated using the rat passive cutaneous anaphylaxis (PCA) assay. The difference in anaphylactic potential of Dn p-Cry j 1 compared to n Cry j 1 in wild-type rats was of the same magnitude as the difference seen in the anaphylaxis reactions obtained with n Cry j 1 in wild-type rats and mast-cell deficient rats, indicating a dramatic reduction in anaphylactic potential of Dn p-Cry j 1. These results indicate that Dn p-Cry j 1 is a promising candidate for next-generation JC AIT.