title: The potential of peptide immunotherapy in allergy and asthma.
abstract: Allergic conditions contribute significantly to the burden of chronic disease in the industrialized world. Current treatments offer varying degrees of palliation. The sole proven disease-modifying strategy, specific or whole-allergen immunotherapy, is limited because of the associated risk of systemic adverse effects, such as anaphylaxis. Short, linear allergen-derived peptides, corresponding to T cell epitopes, offer the possibility of a safer approach as they are capable of inducing allergen-specific hyporesponsiveness without cross-linking mast cell-bound IgE. This review evaluates the scientific basis of peptide immunotherapy and clinical experience in allergy up to the present time.
authors.affiliation: Department of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College, National Heart and Lung Institute, Dovehouse Street, London SW3 6LY, UK.
authors.forename: F Runa
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Ali
authors.forename: A Barry
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Kay
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Larché
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001249:Asthma / Q000276:immunology* / Q000628:therapy*; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003888:Desensitization, Immunologic; D005060:Europe; D006801:Humans; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000276:immunology; D009656:North America; D010455:Peptides / Q000276:immunology* / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D010455:Peptides; D007073:Immunoglobulin E