Pollens, dust mites, fruits… In developed countries, 25% to 30% of the inhabitants are affected by allergies. And among them, there is Samy. This biotechnology student at the Paul-Sabatier University (UPS) in Toulouse has a good and “constraining” collection of allergies. Apples, very little for him, certain drugs have worrying effects on his throat and respiratory tract. And it is thanks to its setbacks that a team of Toulouse students chose to work all summer on a new method of detecting allergies with a view, at the end of October, to the famous iGem world competition, which brings together the cream of the synthetic biology.
They are eight – three students from UPS and 5 from Insa – to have spent the summer in white coats in their lab, juggling with tubes, pipettes, bacteria and PCR tests. They almost got down to recycling the CO2 produced by the fermentation of wine, but Samy being convincing, they opted for the Daisy project.
“High-throughput” detection
“Each allergen is recognized by specific antibodies. Our system is based on the use of bacteria designed to bind specifically to antibodies, explains Charline, Insa member of the team. From a blood test, we can observe aggregates synonymous with an allergic predisposition. “And the patient will obtain a personalized assessment of the classic allergies he develops but also, possibly, of “tens, even hundreds of others” currently not detected by blood or skin tests. This is what the iGem Toulouse team calls “high-throughput allergy detection”. “And once the allergy is known, we can proceed with desensitization,” adds Juliette.
The idea, before the competition, is to “prove the concept” by working on synthetic antibodies. And by living the same tribulations as their elders like with this programming error on a strand of DNA which made them lose “a good week”.
The troupe will spend another full month bent over the laboratory benches. In a rather studious atmosphere, where the pressure does not show through. However, Toulouse have a world title to defend. The one won in 2021 by their predecessors with their synthetic extract of the perfume of violets.