Wait, Do You Have Any Allergies?

It’s something you hear all the time, a question that almost everyone has been asked. In fact, over 2.6 million Canadians have food allergies that need to be managed on a daily basis. But what if technology could prevent this or modify allergy foods?

What are Food Allergies?

Simply put, food allergies are your immune system’s reactions to foods it deems as a threat to your body. Although these foods may be harmful to you, they are usually harmless to most people.

An allergic reaction happens when your immune system responds to the allergic food by coming into skin contact or it is swallowed, inhaled, or injected. The response that is generated from your immune system is not necessarily responding to how harmful the substance is, but is an accidental recognition of seeing the substance as harmful.

Once your immune system overreacts to this substance, it produces antibodies called immunoglobulin E, and these antibodies travel to different cells that release chemicals. This is what causes an allergic reaction, and produces symptoms such as sneezing, skin reactions, and more.

Modifying Allergy Foods

Hold on, we can alter allergy foods and eliminate them completely?

Yep, and it’s already being tested. Genome or gene editing is a method of altering the DNA of organisms, such as plants or bacteria. This is performed using enzymes, that are engineered in order to target a DNA sequence, removing the existing DNA and allowing the transfer of replacing DNA. Gene editing is already being used today, and most recently, have been put to use with experimental tests to detect the novel coronavirus.

The same can be done with allergy foods, and not only detecting them, but possibly eliminating allergies completely.

How it Works

CRISPR and other techniques have been tested to develop less allergenic varieties of allergy foods. Many researches are primarily focused on developing less allergenic versions of wheat and peanuts, two foods that a majority of people are allergic to.

A technique called RNA Interference (RNAi) requires scientists to splice a piece of RNA into the genetic code they are trying to modify. RNA molecules come together to activate protein complexes, and once they bind, work to target mRNAs (messenger RNAs) to restrict ribosomes from continuing to synthesize the protein that’s associated. Due to this, the production of that particular protein is restricted.

Using RNAi to target a gene acts as a regulator for the proteins that cause allergic reactions.

Another famous tool called CRISPR could be used to cut a section of DNA and alter genetic code; pinpointing exactly which parts you desire to change without introducing RNA. This tool can easily alter and tweak almost any gene in a plant/animal, and can be used to alter the genes of foods to prevent allergies.

With technology like CRISPR, scientists are capable of developing allergy-free foods such as wheat, soy, nuts, and more that many people weren’t able to enjoy before.

Final Thoughts

Many scientists and companies working on this, report having their own allergies as well, indicating there is a lot of research being done already. Food allergies affect millions of people on a daily basis, and it is a much more pressing issue than people may think.

Not only is having a food allergy an inconvenience, but these allergies can be so severe, that there are a significant amount of deaths caused by them each year. With gene editing, we can potentially make allergic reactions less severe, or alter genes so that these allergies are eliminated completely.

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