Authors: Thomas Eiwegger, Saskia Gruber, Zsolt Szépfalusi and Cezmi A. Akdis

Thomas Eiwegger

Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine; Medical University of Vienna; Vienna, Austria; Swiss Institute of Allergy and Asthma Research (SIAF); University of Zurich; Davos, Switzerland

Saskia Gruber

Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine; Medical University of Vienna; Vienna, Austria

Zsolt Szépfalusi

Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine; Medical University of Vienna; Vienna, Austria

Cezmi A. Akdis

Corresponding author: akdisac@siaf.uzh.ch
Swiss Institute of Allergy and Asthma Research (SIAF); University of Zurich; Davos, Switzerland

Abstract:
Allergy is the result of a disbalanced immune response to environmental innocuous antigens. Despite of accumulating data to define the pathomechanisms that take place in case of allergic diseases a detailed understanding of sequence of events that lead to the "normal" scenario of tolerance development are still under debate. Allergen-specific immunotherapy is the only causal treatment of allergic diseases. It modifies the immune response to a particular antigen to achieve tolerance against the symptom-causing allergen. This process is considered to mirror physiological peripheral tolerance induction. A number of immunological changes have been described to occur under allergen immunotherapy, including the generation of allergen-specific regulatory T cells, the induction of allergen-specific IgG4, an increase in the Th1/Th2 cytokine ratio and decreased activation and function of effector cells such as mast cells, basophils and eosinophils.

Received: May 10, 2012; Accepted: May 28, 2012; Published Online: October 1, 2012

Preview: