Local breakthrough in peanut allergy research

In various media reports around the country, a senior lecturer at Melbourne's Deakin University, Dr Cenk Suphioglu, has reported recent research findings that may lead to a better understanding of why peanuts trigger life-threatening allergic reactions in sensitised people. He hopes the research by his Allergy Research Group at Deakin could lead to allergic reactions being prevented in the first place.

The new findings come from research that looked at the whole peanut, both the allergenic components and the non-allergenic components. Previous research has looked at individual peanut allergens in isolation. Their results indicate that peanut proteins interact with one another because of their 'sticky' carbohydrate content and form what Dr Suphioglu terms 'super-allergens'. His group believes these large molecules could be responsible for an over-reaction by the immune system in some people, triggering life-threatening anaphylactic reactions.

The group are also looking at ways to prevent the peanut allergens from reacting with the antibodies produced by the body in response to an allergen, in order to prevent or reduce the allergic reaction from occurring in the first place. The group have recently identified a substance that significantly blocks the interaction between human antibodies and the major peanut allergens. This research was recognised late last year by the Ramaciotti Foundations with a $50 000 grant to help continue the work in this field.

Research into understanding the molecular and allergenic properties of major peanut allergens, together with the work on how to prevent or inhibit allergic reactions, will potentially lead to the development of safer and more effective methods for diagnosing peanut allergy, as well as improving prevention and treatment options for sufferers of other allergies.

A paper describing these research findings will be submitted for publication in the US-based Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.