title: A rice-based edible vaccine expressing multiple T-cell epitopes to induce oral tolerance and inhibit allergy.
abstract: Plant pollens are the most common cause of seasonal allergic disease. The number of patients undergoing treatment for allergies to the pollen of Japanese cedar (major antigens, Cry j 1 and Cry j 2) has increased steadily each year. A rice seed-based edible vaccine has been shown to be effective for treating Japanese cedar pollinosis. Rice seeds containing the major T-cell epitopes derived from cedar pollen allergens were orally administrated to mice before systemic challenge with total pollen protein. Mucosal immune tolerance leading to a reduction of allergen-specific IgE, T-cell proliferative reactions, and histamine were induced, resulting in suppression of allergy-specific symptoms such as sneezing. Oral seed-based peptide immunotherapy offers a safe, simple, and cost-effective alternative to conventional allergen-specific immunotherapy using crude allergen extracts for treating allergic disease. A human version of rice seed-based edible vaccine containing seven T-cell epitopes from the Cry j 1 and Cry j 2 allergens was recently developed and is undergoing safety assessments.
authors.affiliation: Transgenic Crop Research and Development Center, National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, Kannondai 2-1-2, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8602, Japan. takaiwa@nias.affrc.go.jp
authors.forename: Fumio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Takaiwa
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D018984:Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte / Q000276:immunology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D012275:Oryza / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D006255:Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal / Q000276:immunology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014611:Vaccination / Q000379:methods*; D022462:Vaccines, Edible / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D018984:Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte; D022462:Vaccines, Edible