title: Antigen-based immunotherapy (AIT) for autoimmune and allergic disease.
abstract: Autoimmune and allergic diseases are major causes of morbidity. Antigen-based immunotherapy (AIT) is immunologically the most satisfying means of specifically targeting only those T cells driving disease, thereby inducing antigen-specific immune tolerance, with the lowest adverse risk profile. AIT is highly effective in rodent models of T cell-driven inflammation and is now in clinical trials. The range of approaches to applying AIT in the clinic prevents a consensus on the molecular basis for this form of tolerance. In particular, there has been a paucity of information on how pre-activated effector and memory T cells respond to AIT. New, advanced murine models of AIT are beginning to deliver such information at the cellular, biochemical, transcriptional and epigenetic levels.
authors.affiliation: University of Glasgow, Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, Sir Graeme Davies Building, 120 University Place, Glasgow G12 8TA, UK. Electronic address: Megan.Macleod@glasgow.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Megan K L
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: MacLeod
authors.affiliation: University of Edinburgh, MRC Centre for Inflammation Research, Queen's Medical Research Institute, 47 Little France Crescent, Edinburgh EH16 4TJ, UK.
authors.forename: Stephen M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Anderton
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000941:Antigens / Q000008:administration & dosage; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology*; D003888:Desensitization, Immunologic / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology*; D007108:Immune Tolerance / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000941:Antigens