Transplantation Laboratory & Infection Biology Research Program, Haartman Institute, University of Helsinki & HUSLAB, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
Curr Opin Allergy Clin Immunol. 2011 Feb;11(1):29-32. doi: 10.1097/ACI.0b013e328342319e.
Allergies are a global health problem with rapidly increasing prevalence but still lacking pathogenetic knowledge or optimal treatment. The objective is to add to the conventional thinking that allergies are caused by overactive, mainly T-cell-mediated, immunological responses and thus to raise the putative role of altered epithelial functions.
Birch pollen allergen was rapidly and actively transported through the respiratory epithelium via caveolar-dependent mechanisms only in patients allergic to birch pollen but not their healthy controls. Transcriptomic analyses showed that whereas healthy individuals raised a strong epithelial response after intranasal allergen challenge, the allergic patients had a reduced response. Thus allergies could also be due to hyporeactive responses on the epithelial level.
Epithelium has emerged as an active and complex organ with mechanical, biochemical and immunological functions. The increasing awareness that epithelium interacts actively with allergens might provide new targets for the prevention and management of allergy.
过敏是一个全球性的健康问题，其患病率正在迅速上升，但发病机制仍不清楚，也没有理想的治疗方法。本综述旨在改变过敏是由过度活跃的、主要是 T 细胞介导的免疫反应引起的传统观念，并提出上皮功能改变的可能作用。
桦树花粉过敏原通过小窝依赖机制在呼吸道上皮细胞中被快速、主动地转运，这仅发生在对桦树花粉过敏的患者中，而不是他们的健康对照者中。转录组分析显示，在鼻内过敏原激发后，健康个体引起强烈的上皮反应，而过敏患者的反应减弱。因此，过敏也可能是由于上皮水平的反应低下引起的。
上皮已成为一个具有机械、生化和免疫学功能的活跃而复杂的器官。越来越多的人意识到上皮与过敏原之间存在积极的相互作用，这可能为预防和管理过敏提供新的靶点。
