title: Allergen immunotherapy, routes of administration and cytokine networks: an update.
abstract: Allergen immunotherapy is a disease-modifying therapy, effective for the treatment of allergic rhinitis, allergic asthma, conjunctivitis or stinging insect allergy. Allergen immunotherapy involves the administration of increasing doses of allergens with the aim of ameliorating the allergic response. Although precise underlying mechanisms of the induction of immune tolerance remain unclear, immunotherapy has been associated with the induction of distinct subsets of Tregs that eventually lead to peripheral tolerance by inducing a deviation from Th2 to Th1 immune responses. This review focuses on the current knowledge of the mechanisms of immunotherapy in relationship to different routes of administration and also provides a unifying view.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Unit of Pediatric Genetics & Immunology, University of Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Caterina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cuppari
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Leonardi
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Manti
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Filippelli
authors.forename: Tommaso
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Alterio
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Spicuzza
authors.forename: Luciana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rigoli
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Arrigo
authors.forename: Vassilios
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Lougaris
authors.forename: Carmelo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Salpietro
mesh_terms: D000485:Allergens / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology*; D016207:Cytokines / Q000276:immunology*; D003888:Desensitization, Immunologic / Q000379:methods*; D004333:Drug Administration Routes; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy; D007108:Immune Tolerance / Q000276:immunology; D018448:Models, Immunological; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000485:Allergens; D016207:Cytokines
keywords: cytokine network; immunotherapy; intradermal route; intralymphatic route; route of administration; subcutaneous route; sublingual route