Design Process
The Double A protein was not always what it is today. In the beginning of our project we knew that we wanted to make a protein that would prevent allergic reactions in an all natural way, but we didn't know exactly how we wanted it to do that. Our original idea included blocking histamine, just like regular medications. We wanted our invention to bind to the mast cell, refusing to let the release of histamine could take place. However, this way of stopping the reaction is not permenant, so we had to come up with something else. When we did more research we found out about a chain reaction that takes place in our body called the compliment system. Its job is to fight certain diseases and infections, and when there is an allergen in the body it goes to work even though we know that the allergen is harmless. It consists of many different kinds of proteins including C3, C4, and C5. Those proteins are split into C3a, C4a, C5a, and C3b, C4b, and C5b by their convertase enzymes, and in C4's case, C1s. C3a, C4a, and C5a are all anaphylatoxins. Anaphylatoxins are fragments foundin the bloodstream that mistake the allergen for a harmful substance and then bind to amast cell (basophil). The mast cell is where histamines are produced and released. This was when we got the idea for our invention. All our protein had to do was recognize the allergen and then send a message to the C3 and C5 convertase, and C1s and then there would be no allergic reaction. The only problem left was how to get the protein into the bloodstream. In the beginning, we also planned to have the protein biologically engineered outside of the body and then be injected into the bloodstream. We later realized that there were two problems to that idea. 1.There would only be one "AA Protein" in the entire body and since it wouldn't be in a cell, it would not be able to be reproduced. 2. The body will easily recognize the protein as an alien substance and dispose it. Then we learned about gene therapy. Gene therapy is the scientific altering of genes in the body. When we learned about gene therapy, and that we could simply insert a gene into the chromosomes, and the cell, using that gene, could create the protein, then our idea would be even more effective and natural, making it less likely to be attacked by the body as an alien substance. This is our final invention: a protein that recognizes an allergen and then sends a message to the C3 and C5 convertase, and C1s so that there is no allergic reaction.