title: Immunological mechanisms of specific allergen immunotherapy.
abstract: Allergy is an immunological disorder, which is driven by uncontrolled allergen-activated T cell subsets, leading to immediate type hypersensitivity against otherwise harmless environmental allergens. These allergens are tolerated by healthy individuals as well as by patients, who successfully underwent allergen-specific immunotherapy (SIT). The successful SIT is characterized by the induction of T cell unresponsiveness against the given allergen. Regulatory T cells (Tregs), which are installed or enhanced by SIT and govern the activity of potentially pro-allergic effector T cells, mediate this unresponsiveness. The current article reviews the mechanisms underlying the balance of these cell populations along with suppressive mechanisms of SIT, which may serve as future drug targets.
authors.affiliation: Swiss Institute of Allergy and Asthma Research (SIAF), Obere Str. 22, CH-7270 Davos, Switzerland. csweber@siaf.unizh.ch
authors.forename: Carsten B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Schmidt-Weber
authors.forename: Kurt
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Blaser
mesh_terms: D000485:Allergens / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000628:therapy*; D007167:Immunotherapy; D016753:Interleukin-10 / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D000485:Allergens; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta; D016753:Interleukin-10