SUPPRESSION OF IgE ANTIBODIES WITH CONJUGATES OF HAPTENS OR ALLERGENS AND SYNTHETIC HYDROPHILIC POLYMERS

Abstract

A variety of allergens and allergenic haptens can be converted to nonimmunologenic and tolerogenic derivatives by conjugation to nonimmunogenic, hydrophilic, synthetic polymers, such as mPEG, PVA, and PVP. The resulting conjugates of common allergens and of small molecules, such as those responsible for drug allergies, can potentially be used therapeutically for the specific suppression of the IgE antibodies that mediate the corresponding allergic manifestations of the immediate type. All these conjugates exert their immunosuppressive effect in mice by activating suppressor T cells; hapten-PVA and hapten-PVP conjugates--as distinct from antigen-mPEG conjugates--also appear to inactive the hapten-specific B cell population.