Genetics/epigenetics/allergy: The gun is loaded ... but hat pulls the trigger?

摘要

Background: The allergic diseases comprise a group of chronic inflammatory conditions that display a broad spectrum of clinical manifestations primarily mediated by immnunoglobulin E (IgE). The prevalence and severity of these IgE-mediated allergic disorders have increased dramatically over the past few decades and are becoming a global health problem. Although genetics plays an important role in determining who develops these atopic disorders, genetics alone cannot fully explain this rapid growth. Results of numerous studies have indicated that epigenetics plays a major pathogenetic role by superimposing its effects above the DNA primal genetic molecule through interactions with and between various susceptibility genes, immunologic influences, and environmental factors.