Immunotherapy with Recombinant and DNA-Conjugated Allergens

Synonyms

Allergen immunotherapy; Allergen-specific desensitization; Allergy immunotherapy; Allergy injections; Allergy shots; Hyposensitization; Immunotherapy

Definition

Recombinant technology and DNA-conjugated allergens are being developed and studied as an effort to have safer and more effective forms of immunotherapy (Cox et al. 2011).

Background

Despite the benefits of conventional subcutaneous immunotherapy, not all individuals improve, and the risk of adverse reactions, such as anaphylaxis, remains. Thus, safer and more effective forms of immunotherapy are needed (Casale and Stokes 2011).

Strategies to improve immunotherapy are utilizing recombinant technologies. Most clinically important allergens have been identified, cloned, sequenced, and expressed in a variety of systems. This knowledge allows a number of possibilities including expression of allergenic proteins in fragments, expression of only limited portions of the protein as peptides, or mutation or deletion of specific...