title: Advances and highlights in mechanisms of allergic disease in 2015.
abstract: This review highlights some of the advances in mechanisms of allergic disease, particularly anaphylaxis, including food allergy, drug hypersensitivity, atopic dermatitis (AD), allergic conjunctivitis, and airway diseases. During the last year, a mechanistic advance in food allergy was achieved by focusing on mechanisms of allergen sensitization. Novel biomarkers and treatment for mastocytosis were presented in several studies. Novel therapeutic approaches in the treatment of atopic dermatitis and psoriasis showed that promising supplementation of the infant's diet in the first year of life with immunoactive prebiotics might have a preventive role against early development of AD and that therapeutic approaches to treat AD in children might be best directed to the correction of a TH2/TH1 imbalance. Several studies were published emphasizing the role of the epithelial barrier in patients with allergic diseases. An impaired skin barrier as a cause for sensitization to food allergens in children and its relationship to filaggrin mutations has been an important development. Numerous studies presented new approaches for improvement of epithelial barrier function and novel biologicals used in the treatment of inflammatory skin and eosinophilic diseases. In addition, novel transcription factors and signaling molecules that can develop as new possible therapeutic targets have been reported.
authors.affiliation: Swiss Institute of Allergy and Asthma Research (SIAF), University of Zürich, Davos, Switzerland, Christine Kühne-Center for Allergy Research and Education (CK-CARE), Davos, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Paulina
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wawrzyniak
authors.affiliation: Swiss Institute of Allergy and Asthma Research (SIAF), University of Zürich, Davos, Switzerland, Christine Kühne-Center for Allergy Research and Education (CK-CARE), Davos, Switzerland. Electronic address: akdisac@siaf.uzh.ch.
authors.forename: Cezmi A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Akdis
authors.affiliation: Division of Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, and the Department of Medicine, Cincinnati Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio.
authors.forename: Fred D
authors.initials: FD
authors.lastname: Finkelman
authors.affiliation: Division of Allergy and Immunology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio.
authors.forename: Marc E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Rothenberg
mesh_terms: D000485:Allergens / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology; D000707:Anaphylaxis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D003233:Conjunctivitis, Allergic / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism; D003876:Dermatitis, Atopic / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism; D003888:Desensitization, Immunologic; D000091344:Filaggrin Proteins; D005512:Food Hypersensitivity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D007108:Immune Tolerance; D016867:Immunocompromised Host / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D008415:Mastocytosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000485:Allergens; C000717249:FLG protein, human; D000091344:Filaggrin Proteins
keywords: Anaphylaxis; allergen immunotherapy; asthma; atopic dermatitis; eosinophilia