Alleviation of the allergenic potential of airborne and contact allergens by thioredoxin

A reduced pollen protein extract that has been treated with thioredoxin, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-thioredoxin reductase (NTR) and reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH).

An ingestible pollen protein that has been treated with thioredoxin, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-thioredoxin reductase (NTR) and reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH).

An ingestible pollen extract that has been treated with thioredoxin, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-thioredoxin reductase (NTR) and reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH).

A hypoallergenic pollen protein comprising a pollen protein with intramolecular disulfide bonds, wherein said pollen protein is hypoallergenic after a treatment comprising contacting said pollen protein with a) thioredoxin, b) nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-thioredoxin reductase (NTR) and c) reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH).

An immunotherapy process to decrease or eliminate the allergenic reaction of an animal to a pollen protein in its non-reduced state, said pollen protein rendered hypoallergenic after a treatment comprising contacting said pollen protein with a) thioredoxin, b) nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-thioredoxin reductase (NTR) and c) reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH), said immunotherapy process comprising administering the hypoallergenic pollen protein in an amount or amounts sufficient to decrease or eliminate said allergenic reaction in said animal.

A method of increasing the digestibility of a pollen protein comprising:

• (a) treating said pollen protein with an amount of thioredoxin, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-thioredoxin reductase (NTR) and reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) effective for increasing the digestibility of said protein;
• and
• (b) administering the treated protein in step (a) to an animal thereby increasing the digestibility of that protein as measured by the symptoms exhibited by said animal as compared to a control.

A method for decreasing the allergenicity of an animal to a specific amount of a specific allergen protein having disulfide bonds comprising:

• (a) reducing disulfide bonds in said specific protein by treating said protein with thioredoxin, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-thioredoxin reductase (NTR) and reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH);
• and
• (b) administering the protein of step (a) to said allergic animal in intermittent increasing immunotherapeutic doses over a period of time, said administration of said protein being effective to decrease or eliminate said allergic reaction of said animal to said specific amount of said specific allergen protein.

A method for determining the presence of intramolecular disulfide bonds in a particular allergen pollen protein comprising:

• (a) incubating said allergen pollen protein with an amount of thioredoxin, NADPH and NTR effective for reducing the intramolecular pollen protein disulfide bonds, and
• (b) analyzing said incubated protein in step (a) for disulfide bond reduction.

A method of decreasing the allergenicity of a pollen protein containing disulfide bonds comprising:

• (a) incubating said pollen protein with an amount of thioredoxin, NADP and NTR effective for reducing the disulfide bonds of said protein, and
• (b) administering the incubated protein in step (a) to an animal thereby decreasing the allergenicity of that protein as measured by the allergic symptoms exhibited by said animal as compared to a control.