Department of Dermatology, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an 710032, P.R. China.
Curr Pharm Des. 2014;20(6):886-91. doi: 10.2174/13816128113199990051.
Subcutaneous allergen specific immunotherapy is an effective treatment of IgE-mediated allergies, but it requires repeated allergen injections with a risk of systemic allergic reactions. Other routes of immunization had been explored to improve patient compliance and safety. Skin is not only a physical barrier between the body and outside world, but also an important immune organ eliciting innate and adaptive immune function. Skin has been used as an ideal site for vaccination of infectious diseases. Food allergen topically applied onto disrupted skin can induce sensitization and food allergy would develop subsequently. However, immune tolerance would be induced if the skin barrier is kept intact. Several mice and human studies on epicutaneous immunotherapy showed successful treatment on IgE-induced allergy models or allergic diseases. Migratory Langerhans cells might play a decisive role in the induction of different immune responses. Further research on the underlying mechanism of the crosstalk between skin and gut or airway is helpful for the understanding of many protective or sensitizing immune responses induced via skin, and also is helpful for the development of new strategy for the treatment of allergic disease.
皮下变应原特异性免疫疗法是 IgE 介导的过敏的有效治疗方法，但它需要重复进行变应原注射，存在发生全身性过敏反应的风险。人们探索了其他免疫途径，以提高患者的依从性和安全性。皮肤不仅是机体与外界之间的物理屏障，也是引发固有和适应性免疫功能的重要免疫器官。皮肤已被用作接种传染病疫苗的理想部位。将食物过敏原应用于受损的皮肤上会引发致敏，随后会发展为食物过敏。然而，如果保持皮肤屏障完整，则会诱导免疫耐受。几项关于经皮免疫疗法的小鼠和人体研究表明，该疗法可成功治疗 IgE 诱导的过敏模型或过敏性疾病。游走的朗格汉斯细胞可能在诱导不同的免疫反应中起决定性作用。进一步研究皮肤与肠道或气道之间的相互作用的潜在机制有助于了解通过皮肤诱导的许多保护性或致敏性免疫反应，也有助于开发治疗过敏性疾病的新策略。
