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Needle-free Epicutaneous For t 2 DNA Vaccine is Effective for Preventing and Treating Biting Midge (Forcipomyia taiwana) allergy in a murine model
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  • Mey-Fann Lee,
  • Chi-Sheng Wu,
  • Shyh-Jye Lin,
  • Yi-Hsing Chen
Mey-Fann Lee
Taichung Veterans General Hospital
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Chi-Sheng Wu
Taichung Veterans General Hospital
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Shyh-Jye Lin
Chung Shan Medical University
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Yi-Hsing Chen
Taichung Veterans General Hospital

Corresponding Author:ysanne@vghtc.gov.tw

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Abstract

Backgrounds: Allergen-specific immunotherapy (ASIT) is capable of inducing immune tolerance to the corresponding allergen, thereby enabling treatment of the root cause of the allergic disease. As the treatment course of protein-based vaccines for ASIT is time-consuming, an easily administered epicutaneous anti-allergic DNA-based vaccine is an attractive method, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We established a mouse model allergic to the biting midge, Forcipomyia taiwana, to test the concept of the epicutaneous DNA vaccine. The experiments were designed using two approaches: therapeutic and prophylactic. Mice were patched with 25 μg For t 2 DNA vaccine patches for one hour with a total of three treatments spaced one week apart. Scratch bouts after For t 2 allergen challenge were used as a clinical surrogate of itch and biomarkers for allergic inflammation were examined by ELISA, RT-PCR, and histopathology. Results: We found that after epicutaneous DNA vaccination, the mice significantly improved with respect to allergen-induced scratch. For t 2-specific IgE, mRNA, and protein of IL-13 and eosinophils infiltration in the targeted skin decreased. For t 2-specific -IgG2a and mRNA expression of FOXP3 increased. Conclusions: We demonstrated the first needle-free epicutaneous DNA vaccine patch that is effective in preventing as well as treating biting midge allergy in a murine model. The mice showed improvements in their allergic condition both clinically as well as in allergic inflammation. The mode of this anti-allergic DNA vaccine may have the potential for use in other specific immunotherapies for other allergens.