Danube-ARC 2.0
Danube Allergy Research Cluster - Allergen-Specific Approaches for Diagnosis, Prevention and Treatment of severe Allergy
Immunoglobulin E (IgE)-associated allergy remains to be the most prevalent immunologically mediated disease affecting almost 30% of the population world-wide. Accordingly it is one of the most important non-communicable diseases affecting mankind. Allergic and chronic airway diseases are currently a major public health problem causing high morbidity, costs and mortality. Allergic patients suffer not only from relatively mild manifestations such as allergic rhinitis and conjunctivitis but also other organs such as the lung, skin and gastrointestinal tract can be heavily affected. The most severe form of allergy, anaphylactic shock caused by food allergens and venom allergens may lead to life threating conditions and death also in very young persons. Likewise, asthma is a severely disabling and life-threatening manifestation of allergy from early childhood up to elderly life. Several pharmacological and biological treatements are available but their effect is modest, lasts only as long as the medication is administered and does not provide sustained effects. By contrast, allergen-specific immunotherapy (AIT) and allergen-specific forms of prevention can profoundly influence the course of the disease. Austrian allergy research has been pioneering the molecular characterization of allergens which has made high resolution molecular allergy diagnosis possible and thus provided a basis for allergen-specific therapeutic and preventive strategies for the management of allergic diseases. Molecular allergy diagnosis enables to transform healthcare towards the principles of “P4 Medicine” for predictive, preventive, personalized (precision) and participatory medicine.
Within the research program proposed here, scientists from the Country of Lower Austria (i.e., Department of Agrobiotechnology, IFA-Tulln; Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, Krems and its University Clinics in St. Pölten) and the Medical University of Vienna will collaborate and continue the Danube Allergy Research Cluster (Danube-ARC) (https://www.kl.ac.at/en/university/scientific-organisational-units/allergology-immunology) in the form of Danube-ARC 2.0. Danube-ARC 2.0, co-ordinated by the Karl Landsteiner University, will focus on severe, disabling and life-threatening forms of allergy such as asthma and anaphylaxis. Danube-ARC 2.0 will characterize the allergen molecules involved in asthma and anaphylaxis, reveal their IgE and T cell epitopes, study in in vitro and in vivo models the mechanisms underlying these severe forms of allergy and develop diagnostics as well as molecular forms of treatment and prevention. Within Danube-ARC 2.0 the highly successful international PhD program “Molecular, cellular and clinical allergology” (MCCA) (https://www.phd-mcca.at/) and the “Certificate Course Allergology and Clinical Immunology” (CCACI) (https://www.kl.ac.at/en/certificate-allergology) will be continued and a “Center for Molecular Allergology” (CMA) will be established to train next generation scientists and to translate research results into clinical application.
Subprojects in Danube-ARC 2.0
- Project Leader: Rudolf Valenta
- Research Institution: Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, Krems
P02 Detection and quantification of life-threatening allergens
- Project Leader: Sabine Baumgartner
- Research Institution: Department of Agrobiotechnology, IFA-Tulln
P03 Towards cure and prevention of birch pollen-related food allergy
- Project Leader: Barbara Bohle
- Research Institution: Department of Pathophysiology and Allergy Research, Medical University of Vienna
P04 Advanced molecular diagnosis of tree nut allergies
- Project Leader: Heimo Breiteneder
- Research Institution: Department of Pathophysiology and Allery Research, Medical University of Vienna
P05 Allergen-induced IgE production: A mechanism for progression towards severe allergy
- Project Leader: Jullia Eckl-Dorna
- Research Institution: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Medical University of Vienna
P06 Learning from oral immunotherapy on cross reactivity between peanut and tree nuts
- Project Leader: Thomas Eiwegger
- Research Institution: Department Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, University Hospital St. Pölten, Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, Krems.
P07 Biobank in pediatric allergy
- Project Leader: Thomas Eiwegger
- Research Institution: Department Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, University Hospital St. Pölten, Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, Krems
P08 Towards safe forms of molecular immunotherapy for venom allergy
- Project Leader: Pia Gattinger
- Research Institution: Department of Pathophysiology and Allery Research, Medical University of Vienna
P09 Towards hypoallergenic monocotyledon plants for cultivation
- Project Leader: Sabine Baumgartner
- Research Institution: Department of Agrobiotechnology, IFA-Tulln
P10 Personalized molecular allergy testing for clinical decision making in seafood allergy
- Project Leader: Heinrich Grausgruber
- Research Institution: Department of Agrobiotechnology, IFA-Tulln
P11 Identification of IgE-reactive haptens for prevention of severe allergic reactions
- Project Leader: Huey-Jy Huang (Mentor: Rudolf Valenta)
- Research Institution: Center for Molecular Allergology Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, Krems
P12 Towards personalized treatment of allergen- and virus-induced asthma
- Project Leader: Katarzyna Niedpodziana
- Research Institution: Department of Pathophysiology and Allery Research, Medical University of Vienna
- Project Leader: Winfried F. Pickl
- Research Institution: Institute of Immunology, Medical University of Vienna and Guest Professor Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, Krems
- Project Leader: Franz Trautinger
- Research Institution: Department of Dermatology, University Hospital St. Pölten, Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, Krems
- Project Leader: Susanne Vrtala
- Research Institution: Department of Pathophysiology and Allergy Research, Medical University of Vienna
P16 Towards molecular allergen specific treatment and prevention of peanut allergy
- Project Leader: Rudolf Valenta
- Research Institution: Department of Pathophysiology and Allergy Research, Medical University of Vienna and Guest Professor Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, Krems
P17 Influence of obesity on allergic asthma and vaccine response
- Project Leader: Ursula Wiedermann
- Research Institution: Institute of Specific Prophylaxis and Tropical Medicine, Medical University of Vienna