Review

Mechanisms of allergen-specific immunotherapy

Hiroyuki Fujita^1,2,3, Michael B Soyka¹, Mübeccel Akdis¹ and Cezmi A Akdis^1*

• * Corresponding author: Cezmi A Akdis akdisac@siaf.uzh.ch

Author Affiliations

¹ Swiss Institute of Allergy and Asthma Research (SIAF), University of Zurich, Davos, Switzerland

² Christine Kühne-Center for Allergy Research and Education (CK-CARE), Davos, Switzerland

³ Department of Environmental Immuno-Dermatology, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama, Japan

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Clinical and Translational Allergy 2012, 2:2 doi:10.1186/2045-7022-2-2

Published: 5 January 2012

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.