Team:Brown



Every year, over  fifty million people  in the US suffer from  allergic rhinitis , the most common type of allergy. Allergens such as pollen, dust, and dander result in nasal congestion, itching, burning, sneezing, and overall  discomfort . Current treatments include over-the-counter  antihistamines , however, side effects of these drugs include drowsiness, restlessness, and poor concentration. For patients suffering from chronic allergies and inflammation, there is a great  need for an alternative strategy  for combating allergic symptoms  without  causing  significant side effects .

The  2009 Brown University iGEM  team worked to treat allergic rhinitis by  engineering Staphylococcus epidermidis , a microbe endogenous to the human nasal flora, to  secrete  a recombinant  histamine-binding protein  in response to the elevated histamine concentrations of an allergic response. The engineered strain of S. epidermidis will function as a  self-regulating drug factory in the nose , providing relief,  without  any negative  side effects .



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