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A number of susceptibility genes for asthma and allergy have been identified in recent years. Here, Donata Vercelli discusses these genes and reviews the techniques used by geneticists to identify them. She also highlights the outstanding challenges in the field.
Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease both involve chronic inflammation of the lungs. But Peter Barnes explains how the inflammatory mediators and cells involved differ between the two diseases and how this affects their responsiveness to corticosteroids and other anti-inflammatory therapies.
In addition to providing a physical barrier, epithelial cells have a role in initiating and maintaining allergic responses to inhaled allergens. As discussed in this Review, epithelial cells can influence the polarization of lung dendritic cells and are themselves influenced by innate and adaptive immune responses during allergic inflammation.
Recent advances in the structural determination of IgE and its receptors and associated molecules have provided insight into the functions and regulation of IgE. This is now helping to direct the design of new IgE-targeted therapies for asthma and allergy.
Understanding the mechanisms of allergic inflammation is important for the improvement of current therapies and the development of novel therapies. This Review describes the current therapeutic strategies for allergy and asthma and highlights several innovative future strategies.
Given that T-cell receptor (TCR) repertoires are randomly generated, how come T cells bearing identical TCRs often dominate the response to an antigen in many individuals? Here, the authors provide a molecular explanation to the conundrum of public T-cell responses.
Millions of people worldwide suffer from respiratory diseases such as allergies, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and these diseases constitute a major public health burden. This Focus issue highlights the latest advances in our understanding of the immune bases of these diseases and outlines how this knowledge can be translated into more effective treatment strategies.
