Bypassing T cells using a B cell mimotope allergy vaccine.

摘要

Allergen-specific immunotherapy (ASIT), or allergy vaccination, is the only treatment able to change the natural course of allergic disease [1, 2]. It comprises repeated administration of allergen in order to induce allergen-specific unresponsiveness, usually during a time span of several years. The treatment was first introduced by Noon in 1911 [3]. It has thus been practiced for almost 100 years but still the immunological mechanisms by which symptom relief is achieved are poorly understood. One main hypothesis is that T cells are the preferential targets of successful ASIT.