• International Journal of Contents
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.39-45
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• 2018

Purpose: Food Allergen Immunotherapy (Oral) is a form of immunotherapy administered to patients who are allergic to foods such as egg, milk, and peanut. The food allergen is orally administered to the patient in an escalating dose for desensitization or tolerance development. The safety and effectiveness of the therapy were assessed using a systematic literature review and meta-analysis. Methods: For a literature search, 8 national databases and a number of international databases including Ovid-MEDLINE, Ovid-EMBASE, and Cochrane Library were used; and 13 articles (all from international databases) were selected. The target of Food Allergen Immunotherapy (Oral) included patients with food allergy, and the intervention was food allergen immunotherapy without limiting the food type. The safety and effectiveness of Food Allergen Immunotherapy (Oral) were assessed by reviewing all the articles reporting on the therapy. The control group received standard therapies including aversion therapy, no treatment, anti-histamine treatment, and placebo. Safety was assessed through the incidence of complication and emergency medication. Effectiveness was assessed based on therapy success rate, symptomatic improvement, and quality of life. Results: Although Food Allergen Immunotherapy (Oral) was shown to have successful desensitization in patients with food allergy, the safety of the technique has not yet reached an acceptable level; the possible reason is due to the high rate of complication and frequency of emergency medication. Also, each study employed varying protocols while relying on a small number of participants and a short monitoring period. Conclusion: The results of assessment suggest that the level of evidence from current literature review is low and further research is necessitated for the verification of the safety and effectiveness of the therapy (Grade of Recommendation: A; Level of Technology: II-b).

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.56 no.12
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• pp.505-513
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• 2013

Because the prevalence of allergic diseases has significantly increased in recent years, understanding the causes and mechanisms of these disorders is of high importance, and intense investigations are ongoing. Current knowledge pinpoints immune tolerance mechanisms as indispensable for healthy immune response to allergens in daily life. It is evident that development and maintenance of allergen-specific T cell tolerance is of vital importance for a healthy immune response to allergens. Such tolerance can be gained spontaneously by dose-dependent exposures to allergens in nature or by allergen-specific immunotherapy. Allergen-specific immunotherapy induces regulatory T cells with the capacity to secrete interleukin-10 and transforming growth factor-${\beta}$, limits activation of effector cells of allergic inflammation (such as mast cells and basophils), and switches antibody isotype from IgE to the noninflammatory type IgG4. Although allergen-specific immunotherapy is the only method of tolerance induction in allergic individuals, several factors, such as long duration of treatment, compliance problems, and life-threatening side effects, have limited widespread applicability of this immunomodulatory treatment. To overcome these limitations, current research focuses on the introduction of allergens in more efficient and safer ways. Defining the endotypes and phenotypes of allergic diseases might provide the ability to select ideal patients, and novel biomarkers might ensure new custom-tailored therapy modalities.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.27-35
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• 2004

Beevenom immunotherapy(BVIT) in allergic patients is a well-established treatment modality for the prevention of systemic anaphylactic reactions caused by insect stings. BVIT is accompanied by increases in allergen-specific IgG, particularly the IgG4 isotype, which blocks not only IgE-dependent histamine release from basophils but also IgE-mediated antigen presentation to T cells. Inhibition of T cells after BVIT also involves decreased induction of the costimulatory molecule ICOS, which, in turn, seems to be dependent on the presence of IL-10, also associated with the inhibited status of T cells after BVIT. Suppression of T cells by IL-10 is an active process, which depends on the expression and participation of CD28. Immune tolerance in specific allergen immunotherapy might be a consequence of decreased Th2 or increased Th1 response of allergen specific T lymphocytes. BVIT shifted cytokine responses to allergen from a TH-2 to a TH-1 dominant pattern, suggesting direct effects on T cells. Many studies showed that severe side effects due to venom immunotherapy are rare. These results suggest that immunological changes after BVIT may be applied to be therapeutic alternative of general allergic diseases including beevenom allergy.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.12.1-12.13
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• 2022

Allergen-specific immunotherapy (AIT) is presumed to modulate the natural course of allergic disease by inducing immune tolerance. However, conventional AITs, such as subcutaneous immunotherapy and sublingual immunotherapy, require long treatment durations and often provoke local or systemic hypersensitivity reactions. Therefore, only <5% of allergy patients receive AIT as second-line therapy. Novel administration routes, such as intralymphatic, intradermal and epicutaneous immunotherapies, and synthetic recombinant allergen preparations have been evaluated to overcome these limitations. We will review the updated views of diverse AIT methods, and discuss the limitations and opportunities of the AITs for the treatment of allergic diseases in humans.

• Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Research
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.662-674
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• 2018

Purpose: Group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) have been implicated in the pathogenesis of allergic disease. However, the effect of allergen-specific immunotherapy (AIT) on ILCs remains to be clarified. The aim of this study was to evaluate the levels of ILC subsets in allergic rhinitis (AR) patients in response to house dust mite (HDM)-specific immunotherapy. Methods: We enrolled 37 AR patients undergoing AIT (16 responders and 11 non-responders) for 2 years, 35 HDM AR patients and 28 healthy subjects. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were analyzed by flow cytometry to identify ILC subsets. Stimulation of ILC2s with recombinant allergen-specific protein was used to determine ILC2's activation (CD69 expression). Results: Responder AIT patients and healthy subjects had a decreased frequency of circulating ILC2s compared to non-responder AIT and AR patients. Conversely, ILC1s from responder AIT patients and healthy subjects showed increased frequency compared to non-responder AIT and AR patients. The frequency of ILC3s natural cytotoxicity receptor $(NCR)^+$ and $NCR^-$ in responder AIT patients was significantly lower compared to AR patients and healthy subjects. The ILC1: ILC2 proportion in responder AIT patients was similar to that of healthy subjects. PBMCs from patients who were responders to AIT had a significantly lower expression of the activation marker CD69 on ILC2s in response to allergen re-stimulation compared to AR patients, but no difference compared to non-responder AIT patients and healthy subjects. Conclusions: We propose that AIT might affect ILC responses. The activation of ILC2s was reduced in AR patients treated with AIT. Our results indicate that a relative ILC1/ILC2 skewed response is a possible key to successful AIT.

• Clinical and Experimental Vaccine Research
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.121-126
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• 2023

Purpose: Sublingual immunotherapy is currently promoted by various companies, with administration schedules variable in the different products even though almost all are standardized immunologically. So, this study was planned to examine the efficacy of simple nondaily dosing of sublingual immunotherapy instead of the widely used daily schedule. Materials and Methods: Fifty-two patients with allergic rhinitis and bronchial asthma were enrolled. Sublingual immunotherapy (manufactured at the allergen immunotherapy preparation unit at Mansoura University) was given in suitable bottles with a dropper mechanism that permits comfortable dosing under the tongue. The physician recommended that the patient put the drops under his/her tongue and leave the drops beneath the tongue for 2 minutes before swallowing. This was repeated every 3 days, with the drop number and concentration gradually rising. Results: After 2 months of follow-up, 65.8% responded partially to the symptom score and 26.3% responded completely to the medication score. There was a significant decline in the symptom and medication scores from the baseline scores (p<0.0001). After 4 months of follow-up, 95.8% responded partially to symptom scores and no one has not responded; 54.2% responded completely to medication scores; and 81% of studied patients had no side effects. However, the most frequent side effect was a sore throat. Conclusion: Our nondaily schedule of sublingual immunotherapy is tolerable, safe, and effective in patients with allergic rhinitis and bronchial asthma.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.59 no.2
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• pp.47-53
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• 2016

Food allergy is common and sometimes life threatening for Korean children. The current standard treatment of allergen avoidance and self-injectable epinephrine does not change the natural course of food allergy. Recently, oral, sublingual, and epicutaneous immunotherapies have been studied for their effectiveness against food allergy. While various rates of desensitization (36% to 100%) and tolerance (28% to 75%) have been induced by immunotherapies for food allergy, no single established protocol has been shown to be both effective and safe. In some studies, immunologic changes after immunotherapy for food allergy have been revealed. Adverse reactions to these immunotherapies have usually been localized, but severe systemic reactions have been observed in some cases. Although immunotherapy cannot be recommended for routine practice yet, results from recent studies demonstrate that immunotherapies are promising for the treatment of food allergy.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.18-22
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• 2017

The aim of this study was to prove that the hypothesis of half dose (HD) allergen-specific immunotherapy (ASIT) in the treatment of canine atopic dermatitis (CAD) would result in a similar success rate compared to the standard dose (SD) ASIT. Clinical signs were evaluated using a third version of the Canine Atopic Dermatitis Extent and Severity Index (CADESI-03) prior to ASIT (day 0), at the end of induction (day 43), and at three month afterwards (day 90). Of the 18 atopic dogs, 12 dogs (SD group: 6; HD group: 6) had a good - excellent response to the house dust mites-specific immunotherapy. The efficacies of ASIT were 66.6% in both groups. The grades of reduction rate CADESI-03 were not different between two groups. Therefore, half dose protocol of house dust mites-specific immunotherapy is an effective and efficient method to treat CAD.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.97-99
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• 2000

Allergy to Brassica pollen has been reported in some countries. We have cloned a cDNA encoding a Brassica pollen allergen, Bra r 1. Bra r 1 belongs to a new family of $Ca^{2+}$-binding proteins, characterized by the presence of two EF-hand calcium-binding domains. Bra r 1 was detected in the tapetum, microspores, pollen coat and pollen tubes, indicating Bra r 1 is involved in pollen pistil interaction and pollen tube growth. We have engineered the hypoallergenic mutants of Bra r 1 for immunotherapy. Here we describe the review of molecular characterization of Bra r 1.

• Allergy, Asthma & Respiratory Disease
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.102-124
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• 2024

Allergen immunotherapy (AIT) is a causative treatment of allergic diseases in which allergen extracts are regularly administered in a gradually escalated doses, leading to immune tolerance and consequent alleviation of allergic diseases. The need for uniform practice guidelines in AIT is continuously growing as the number of potential candidates for AIT increases and new therapeutic approaches are tried. This updated version of the Korean Academy of Asthma Allergy and Clinical Immunology recommendations for AIT, published in 2010, proposes an expert opinion by specialists in allergy, pediatrics, and otorhinolaryngology. This guideline deals with the basic knowledge of AIT, including mechanisms, clinical efficacy, allergen standardization, important allergens in Korea, and special consideration in pediatrics. The article also covers the methodological aspects of AIT, including patient selection, allergen selection, schedule and doses, follow-up care, efficacy measurements, and management of adverse reactions. Although this guideline suggests the optimal dosing schedule, an individualized approach and modifications are recommended considering the situation for each patient and clinic.