title: Factors influencing the allergenicity and adjuvanticity of allergens.
abstract: IgE-mediated allergic disorders affect up to 25% of the population in industrialized countries and result in a Th2-polarized immune response to innocuous environmental proteins, so-called allergens. Among a large number of proteins to which humans are exposed to, only a minute fraction are allergens. This observation suggests that allergens share special features of allergenicity (i.e., the capacity to induce the production of specific IgE antibodies in susceptible individuals). However, the question 'what makes a protein allergenic' still remains unanswered although some biochemical characteristics of allergens and their capacity to interact with the innate immune system could be associated with their allergenic potential. Allergen-specific immunotherapy aims at an alteration of the disease-eliciting immune response by repeated administration of allergens. Recently, approaches emerged to endow allergens with adjuvanticity, in particular aiming at an increase of their immunomodulatory capacity. This article summarizes factors of allergenicity and introduces recent concepts of adjuvanticity to improve allergen-specific immunotherapy.
authors.affiliation: Christian Doppler Laboratory for Immunomodulation, Department of Pathophysiology & Allergy Research, Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology & Immunology, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, A-1090 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Deifl
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bohle
mesh_terms: D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic / Q000737:chemistry; D000485:Allergens / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology; D003888:Desensitization, Immunologic / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000276:immunology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D018418:Th2 Cells / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic; D000485:Allergens; D007073:Immunoglobulin E