Hi John,I agree that treatment by injecting or eating allergenic material has been used in medicine for over 100 years. However, such treatments are complicated by the ability of the allergen to activate the allergic response and are rather erratic in practice. The new system uses the T-cell epitope free of the protein signals that activate the allergy response. The T-cell epitope peptides used in allergy therapy are proving effective in a wide range of allergies and similarly in autoimmune diseases such as diabetes,arthritis and multiple sclerosis.Inserting the human gene segments for the epitopes into crop plants should be treated carefully and as well the peptides may be synthesized or produced in yeast in fermentors. I think we should avoid polluting the food supply with treatment drugs under any circumstance.sincerely,joe
John D'hondt wrote:
Joe Cummins wrote :The use of humanized rice to treat allergy has a potential ability to pollute the rice food crop with human genes and an antibiotic resistance gene. However, there is little doubt that the use of human T cell epitope peptides produced in crop plants to treat a wide array of allergies and autoimmune diseases is going to be a major focus in the very near future. It is important to insure that these humanized crops are adequately tested for safety to humans and to the environment.Takagi1, Saburo Saito2, Lijun Yang1, Seiji Nagasaka3, Naoko Nishizawa3 and Fumio Takaiwa1,* Summary [with snips]>When allergenicT-cell epitope peptides are expressed in the edible part of transgenic plants, successful mucosal immune tolerance to these allergens may be attainable by the consumption of these plants.That last one has been known for a long time, 50 years or more. And it can be achieved by just eating the pollen as they are. No big "scientific" manipulations are necessary. People have been eating bee pollen for similar purposes for thousands of years. john
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