Kontaktallergie und Toleranz

Summary

The contact dermatitis is a frequent occupation-related skin disease, which causes considerable distress in affected persons and immense cost for the society. In the last decades several murine systems of tolerance to contact allergens have been established to analyze the underlying immunological mechanisms and to develop new prophylactic and therapeutical strategies. The model of low zone tolerance to contact allergens may offer the advantage to investigate the physiological situation in humans. For the induction of the low zone tolerance subsensitizing doses of haptens were epicutaneously applicated onto the skin inducing antigen-specific CD8⁺ Tc2 suppressor cells.