Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012 Jan 5;2(1):2.
doi: 10.1186/2045-7022-2-2.

Mechanisms of allergen-specific immunotherapy

Hiroyuki Fujita  1 , Michael B Soyka, Mübeccel Akdis, Cezmi A Akdis
Affiliations

Mechanisms of allergen-specific immunotherapy

Hiroyuki Fujita et al. Clin Transl Allergy. .

Abstract

Allergen-specific immunotherapy (allergen-SIT) is a potentially curative treatment approach in allergic diseases. It has been used for almost 100 years as a desensitizing therapy. The induction of peripheral T cell tolerance and promotion of the formation of regulatory T-cells are key mechanisms in allergen-SIT. Both FOXP3+CD4+CD25+ regulatory T (Treg) cells and inducible IL-10- and TGF-β-producing type 1 Treg (Tr1) cells may prevent the development of allergic diseases and play a role in successful allergen-SIT and healthy immune response via several mechanisms. The mechanisms of suppression of different pro-inflammatory cells, such as eosinophils, mast cells and basophils and the development of allergen tolerance also directly or indirectly involves Treg cells. Furthermore, the formation of non-inflammatory antibodies particularly IgG4 is induced by IL-10. Knowledge of these molecular basis is crucial in the understanding the regulation of immune responses and their possible therapeutic targets in allergic diseases.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Immune regulation during the time course of allergen-SIT. Specific immune responses are observed during the course of allergen-SIT. 1. An early desensitization effect including decrease in mast cell and basophil degranulation soon after the first administration of allergens. 2. Generation of allergen-specific Treg cells and suppression of effector cells. 3. An early increase and a late decrease in specific IgE levels. 4. A relatively early increase in specific IgG4. 5. A late decrease in type I skin test reactivity. 6. A decrease in tissue mast cell and eosinophil numbers and a release of their mediators after a few months.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mechanisms of allergen-specific immunotherapy and the role of regulatory T cells in allergic diseases. An allergen is taken up by regional dendritic cells leading to the induction of regulatory T cells. These cells suppress allergic responses directly and indirectly by the following mechanisms. 1. Suppression of mast cells, basophils and eosinophils. 2. Suppression of effector T cells. 3. Suppression of inflammatory cell migration to tissues and tissue inflammation. 4. Suppression of mucus production. 5. Suppression of inflammatory dendritic cells and induction of tolerogenic dendritic cells. 6. Suppression of allergen-specific IgE and induction of IgG4 from B cells.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Larche M, Akdis CA, Valenta R. Immunological mechanisms of allergen-specific immunotherapy. Nat Rev Immunol. 2006;6(10):761–71. - PubMed
    1. Akdis M, Akdis CA. Therapeutic manipulation of immune tolerance in allergic disease. Nat Rev Drug Discov. 2009;8(8):645–60. - PubMed
    1. Akdis CA. Allergy and hypersensitivity: mechanisms of allergic disease. Curr Opin Immunol. 2006;18(6):718–26. - PubMed
    1. Akdis M, Akdis CA. Mechanisms of allergen-specific immunotherapy. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2007;119(4):780–91. - PubMed
    1. Akdis M. et al.Interleukins, from 1 to 37, and interferon-gamma: Receptors, functions, and roles in diseases. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2011;127(3):701–721. e70. - PubMed