Chapter 26. Immunotherapy for allergic disease: A four-decade investigation

This paper describes the early work done with allergen immunotherapy in the treatment of allergic rhinitis and asthma. Furthermore, it cites the mechanistic studies that help define the therapeutic effect of specific allergen immunotherapy. It next explores various experimental approaches that have been investigated to improve the therapeutic response to allergen immunotherapy. Finally, it highlights the recent work with a novel approach in which immunostimulatory DNA is coupled to an allergen in an attempt to further improve the immunogenicity and to attenuate the allergenicity of the therapeutic construct.