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Review
. 2022 Nov 25;2(1):ltac022.
doi: 10.1093/immadv/ltac022. eCollection 2022.

Immunology of allergen immunotherapy

Rifat S Rahman  1 , Duane R Wesemann  2   3   4
Affiliations
Review

Immunology of allergen immunotherapy

Rifat S Rahman et al. Immunother Adv. .

Erratum in

Abstract

Allergen immunotherapy (AIT) is the only disease-modifying therapy for allergic disease. Through repeated inoculations of low doses of allergen-either as whole proteins or peptides-patients can achieve a homeostatic balance between inflammatory effectors induced and/or associated with allergen contact, and mediators of immunologic non-responsiveness, potentially leading to sustained clinical improvements. AIT for airborne/respiratory tract allergens and insect venoms have traditionally been supplied subcutaneously, but other routes and modalities of administration can also be effective. Despite differences of allergen administration, there are some similarities of immunologic responses across platforms, with a general theme involving the restructuring and polarization of adaptive and innate immune effector cells. Here we review the immunology of AIT across various delivery platforms, including subcutaneous, sublingual, epicutaneous, intradermal, and intralymphatic approaches, emphasizing shared mechanisms associated with achieving immunologic non-responsiveness to allergen.

Keywords: epicutaneous immunotherapy; intradermal immunotherapy; intralymphatic immunotherapy.

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Conflict of interest statement

Duane Wesemann is an Editorial Board Member of Immunotherapy Advances and as such has been blinded from reviewing or making decisions on the manuscript.

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