Cytokines and regulation of allergic sensitization to chemicals.

Sensitization to chemicals and the elicitation of allergic reactions results from the stimulation of specific immune responses. Adaptive immunity is orchestrated by cytokines, a family of inducible glycoproteins that influence in many ways the behaviour of, and interaction between, cells which mediate immune and inflammatory responses. In this article the role of cytokines in the development of cutaneous immune responses to chemical allergens and in directing the quality of immune responses provoked by such materials is discussed.