Specific immunotherapy modifies allergen-specific CD4(+) T-cell responses in an epitope-dependent manner.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Understanding the mechanisms by which the immune system induces and controls allergic inflammation at the T-cell epitope level is critical for the design of new allergy vaccine strategies.

Objective

We sought to characterize allergen-specific T-cell responses linked with allergy or peripheral tolerance and to determine how CD4(+) T-cell responses to individual allergen-derived epitopes change over allergen-specific immunotherapy.

Methods

Timothy grass pollen (TGP) allergy was used as a model for studying grass pollen allergies. The breadth, magnitude, epitope hierarchy, and phenotype of the DR04:01-restricted TGP-specific T-cell responses in 10 subjects with grass pollen allergy, 5 nonatopic subjects, and 6 allergy vaccine-treated subjects was determined by

SUBMITTER: Wambre E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3961577 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature