Alleviating Peanut Allergy Using RNAi

Peanut allergy is one of the most common causes of deaths from food allergies, accounting for more than 100 deaths in the US alone per year. It is characterized by more severe symptoms and at a higher rate on minimal contact as compared to other food allergies. Up to now there is no available cure for peanut allergy. Avoidance of peanuts is very difficult because it is commonly used as an ingredient in several food preparations. With the advent of genetic engineering, novel strategies are now being tested to solve the problem of food allergies from the source.  

A group of US scientists constructed transgenic peanut lines expressing significantly lower amount of Ara h 2, the immunodominant allergen found in peanuts, using RNA interference (RNAi). Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay (ELISA) using sera of patients allergic to peanut was used to monitor Ara h 2 expression. Several constructs showed complete absence of the Ara h 2 protein. Other phenotypic features and characteristics of the transgenic peanuts are the same as that of the wild type. Similar studies are now being made to silence other food allergens using RNAi.

Read the full paper published by the Plant Biotechnology Journal at http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1467-7652.2007.00292.x or the abstract at http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-7652.2007.00292.x