Sublingual allergen immunotherapy prevents house dust mite inhalant type 2 immunity through dendritic cell-mediated induction of Foxp3 regulatory T cells.

Sublingual allergen immunotherapy (SLIT) is an emerging treatment option for allergic asthma and a potential disease-modifying strategy for asthma prevention. The key cellular events leading to such long-term tolerance remain to be fully elucidated. We administered prophylactic SLIT in a mouse model of house dust mite (HDM)-driven allergic asthma.

Genetic and T2 biomarkers linked to the efficacy of HDM sublingual immunotherapy in asthma.

Background: Hypersensitivity to house dust mite (HDM) allergens is a common cause of allergic asthma symptoms and can be effectively treated with allergy immunotherapy (AIT).

Objective: To investigate whether genetic and type 2 (T2) inflammatory biomarkers correlate with disease severity in subjects with allergic asthma, and whether this can be modified by AIT.

Methods: MITRA (NCT01433523) was a phase III, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of HDM sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT)-tablets in adults with HDM allergic asthma.

Endosomal recognition of Lactococcus lactis G121 and its RNA by dendritic cells is key to its allergy-protective effects.

Background: Bacterial cowshed isolates are allergy protective in mice; however, the underlying mechanisms are largely unknown. We examined the ability of Lactococcus lactis G121 to prevent allergic inflammatory reactions.

Objective: We sought to identify the ligands and pattern recognition receptors through which L lactis G121 confers allergy protection.

Grass pollen immunotherapy: where are we now.

During allergen immunotherapy (AIT), the allergic patient is exposed to the disease-inducing antigens (allergens) in order to induce clinical and immunological tolerance and obtain disease modification. Large trials of grass AIT with highly standardized subcutaneous and sublingual tablet vaccines have been conducted to document the clinical effect. Induction of blocking antibodies as well as changes in the balance between T-cell phenotypes, including induction of regulatory T-cell subtypes, have been demonstrated for both treatment types.

Glycoproteomic analysis of seven major allergenic proteins reveals novel post-translational modifications.

Allergenic proteins such as grass pollen and house dust mite (HDM) proteins are known to trigger hypersensitivity reactions of the immune system, leading to what is commonly known as allergy. Key allergenic proteins including sequence variants have been identified but characterization of their post-translational modifications (PTMs) is still limited. Here, we present a detailed PTM(1) characterization of a series of the main and clinically relevant allergens used in allergy tests and vaccines.

DNA methylation of TH1/TH2 cytokine genes affects sensitization and progress of experimental asthma.

Background: Epigenetic changes in DNA methylation have recently been demonstrated to be involved in effector T-cell polarization, resulting in differential secretion of T(H)1 and T(H)2 cytokines. However, the contribution to the development of a chronic inflammatory phenotype remains still unclear.

Objective: We sought to investigate changes in DNA methylation in marker genes of T-cell subsets during allergen sensitization/challenge and their influence on the development of an allergic airway inflammatory response.

Epigenetic regulation in murine offspring as a novel mechanism for transmaternal asthma protection induced by microbes.

Background: Bronchial asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease resulting from complex gene-environment interactions. Natural microbial exposure has been identified as an important environmental condition that provides asthma protection in a prenatal window of opportunity. Epigenetic regulation is an important mechanism by which environmental factors might interact with genes involved in allergy and asthma development.

Maternal TLR signaling is required for prenatal asthma protection by the nonpathogenic microbe Acinetobacter lwoffii F78.

The pre- and postnatal environment may represent a window of opportunity for allergy and asthma prevention, and the hygiene hypothesis implies that microbial agents may play an important role in this regard. Using the cowshed-derived bacterium Acinetobacter lwoffii F78 together with a mouse model of experimental allergic airway inflammation, this study investigated the hygiene hypothesis, maternal (prenatal) microbial exposure, and the involvement of Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling in prenatal protection from asthma. Maternal intranasal exposure to A.

The Toll-like receptor 2 R753Q mutation modifies cytokine production and Toll-like receptor expression in atopic dermatitis.

Background: Impaired host defense mechanisms may crucially modulate the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis (AD). More than 10% of patients with AD are heterozygous for the Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR-2) R753Q single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and exhibit severe eczema.

Objective: To elucidate the functional effect of the TLR-2 mutation and its putative relevance for AD.