Asthma Drug Shows Near-Total Protection Against Food Allergies in Mice

Potential Game-Changer for Millions Facing Life-Threatening Reactions

A surprising discovery in mice suggests an existing asthma medication could offer a powerful shield against severe food allergy reactions, a breakthrough that might soon help millions worldwide.

An Unexpected Pathway Uncovered

Researchers at Northwestern Medicine have identified a critical, previously unknown role for the gene DPEP1 in regulating anaphylaxis, the rapid and dangerous allergic response. By targeting this gene, they achieved remarkable results.

Using Zileuton, an FDA-approved asthma drug, scientists were able to block the specific pathway involving DPEP1. This intervention dramatically reduced anaphylactic reactions in mice that were highly sensitive to food allergens, such as peanuts.

“It was actually shocking how well Zileuton worked.”

—Dr. Stephanie Eisenbarth, Director of the Center for Human Immunobiology and Chief of the Division of Allergy and Immunology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

The treatment transformed the mice’s susceptibility. After treatment with Zileuton, 95% of the mice showed almost no symptoms of anaphylaxis. The treatment reversed their risk from 95% susceptible to 95% protected, explained co-senior author Dr. Adam Williams, an associate professor of medicine at Feinberg.

A New Approach to a Growing Crisis

Food allergies are a significant public health concern, affecting over 33 million Americans, or about 10% of the population. Current treatment options are limited, with no true cure available, and existing therapies like oral immunotherapy or injections have their own challenges and limitations.

This novel strategy could offer a simple oral treatment that temporarily safeguards individuals by preemptively blocking the body’s critical anaphylactic signaling. This represents a departure from current therapeutic methods.

“This is a totally different, out-of-the-box approach to treat food allergy, unlike anything we’ve tried before.”

—Laura Hoyt, Study First Author

The potential impact is immense. For parents sending their child to a birthday party, or for anyone flying where they can’t control what’s being served, this could be a powerful protective drug, Hoyt added.

Unraveling Allergy Mysteries

These findings may also shed light on why some individuals test positive for food allergies but never experience symptoms when consuming the suspected food. This new pathway could explain this protective phenomenon.

Explaining this further, Dr. Eisenbarth stated, Our findings open a whole new area for future research into how people develop food allergies in the first place, and why some react while others don’t.

The Northwestern team has already initiated a small, early-stage clinical trial in humans to validate these promising findings.

This groundbreaking research, published in the journal *Science*, was supported by various foundations and national health institutes. Notably, a separate study in the same journal issue, led by Dr. Ruslan Medzhitov at Yale University, also identified the leukotriene pathway’s role in food allergy through a distinct method.