Epicutaneous immunotherapy for food allergy as a novel pathway for oral tolerance induction

Immunotherapy. 2015;7(12):1293-305. doi: 10.2217/imt.15.86. Epub 2015 Nov 19.

Abstract

Epicutaneous immunotherapy is a developing technique, aiming at desensitizing patients with food allergy with less risks that oral ingestion or injection could generate. Several clinical trials have been performed and are currently running, in milk and peanut allergy, assessing the safety of the technique and its efficacy. Preclinical models indicate a major role in the mechanisms of desensitization, for example, Tregs and epigenetic modifications.

Keywords: adults; animal models; children; epicutaneous immunotherapy; food allergy; regulatory T cells; skin.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Administration, Cutaneous
  • Adolescent
  • Animals
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Clinical Trials as Topic
  • Desensitization, Immunologic / instrumentation
  • Desensitization, Immunologic / methods*
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Epigenesis, Genetic
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Mice
  • Milk Hypersensitivity / therapy*
  • Peanut Hypersensitivity / therapy*
  • Skin / immunology*
  • T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / immunology
  • Therapies, Investigational / instrumentation
  • Therapies, Investigational / methods*
  • Transdermal Patch