# Structural and functional characterization of protective antibodies induced in peanut oral immunotherapy

> **NIH NIH R01** · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · 2021 · $502,640

## Abstract

Food allergy affects up to 10% of the US population, and peanut is one of the most common food
allergens, often leading to persistent IgE-mediated food allergy. Only a subset of patients with food allergy
develop clinical tolerance after oral immunotherapy (OIT), while most only have transient benefit. We and
others have shown that serum IgG antibodies to peanut allergens suppress basophil activation, which is a
biomarker of tolerance in OIT. In order to elucidate the mechanisms of long-term tolerance in OIT, we still need
to understand how these peanut-specific IgG antibodies contribute to clinical protection on a clonal level.
 Our long-term goal to develop new antibody-based treatments for IgE-mediated food allergies depend
on elucidating the underlying antibody-mediated mechanism of long-term tolerance induced by OIT. During
OIT, peanut-specific IgG antibodies are induced and can inhibit effector cells, such as mast cells or basophils.
in vitro, these IgG antibodies can prevent allergen effector cell activation by both blocking IgE from being
cross-linked by allergen and binding to inhibitory receptors. Our previous work focused on Ara h 2, which is the
most immunodominant and clinically relevant peanut allergen. In that study, suppression of Ara h 2 stimulated
basophils was a biomarker of tolerance while the concentration of Ara h 2 specific IgG, was not. Therefore, we
hypothesize that tolerance after OIT results from the induction of uniquely protective IgG clones rather than the
general increase in allergen-specific IgG. These protective antibodies effectively prevent IgE-mediated
reactions.
 Based on these findings, we hypothesize that protective antibodies share unique structural
characteristics that allow them to bind to critical epitopes of Ara h 2 with competitive fitness and that epitope-
specific protective antibodies can functionally suppress allergen-specific IgE from a diverse set of patients. Our
approach involves using recombinant antibodies cloned from single antigen-specific B cells isolated from
individuals with or without tolerance after OIT. We are uniquely positioned to conduct this study in that we have
expertise in affinity-selection of antigen-specific B cells, recombinant antibody cloning, and antibody
characterization from a unique patient cohort. We will address our hypothesis in the following specific aims: (1)
Define Ara h 2 binding characteristics of protective allergen-specific IgG antibodies in tolerance; and (2)
Identify functionally suppressive allergen-specific IgG antibodies in tolerance.
 We anticipate that the proposed studies will elucidate the connection between long-lasting clinical
efficacy of OIT on a clonal level with protective antibodies, highlighting the critical role of specific clones in
conferring long-term tolerance in food allergy. This work will lead to new strategies for the treatment of food
allergies.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10098515
- **Project number:** 1R01AI155630-01
- **Recipient organization:** MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** Sarita U Patil
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $502,640
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-11-20 → 2025-10-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10098515

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10098515, Structural and functional characterization of protective antibodies induced in peanut oral immunotherapy (1R01AI155630-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10098515. Licensed CC0.

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