Floris J. van Dalen, PhD

Allergic asthma affects more than 150 million people worldwide. Current treatments help control symptoms but do not address the cause of disease. This study explores an innovative way to treat asthma with nanobody conjugates that selectively restore immune tolerance. This approach co-delivers the allergen and corticosteroids to antigen-presenting cells, which reprograms the immune system to tolerate the presented allergen. Preliminary studies in an asthma mouse model demonstrated that treatment with these nanobody conjugates before disease onset completely blocked the development of asthma. Even in established allergic asthma, therapeutic treatment with nanobody conjugates strongly reduced airway inflammation. This study aims to detail the specific mechanisms of the acquired allergen tolerance and test this therapy with clinically relevant house dust mite allergens in mice and in asthma patient samples to facilitate clinical translation. The long-term goal for this precise immune-editing approach is a treatment that could provide lasting control—or even a cure—for allergic asthma.