Strategies to Study T Cells and T Cell Targets in Allergic Disease

Abstract

Type I allergy is an immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated chronic disease. As such, disease diagnosis and identification of targeted allergens are primarily based on specific IgE reactivity. Over the past decades, the contribution of T cells in allergy pathogenesis has been extensively studied. T cells are not only significant for the onset and maintenance of allergic disease but likely also play a key role for the induction of tolerance by allergen-specific immunotherapy (AIT). Due to the complexity of allergic T cell responses, epitopes have only been thoroughly mapped for the most dominant and prevalent allergens. Recently developed laboratory approaches enable us to perform thorough peptide screens, identifying T cell epitopes in known and novel allergenic targets, irrespective of their IgE reactivity. Monitoring allergen-specific T cells and their phenotype will provide insights into disease manifestation and progression on a molecular level.However, performing such experiments in the clinic is not feasible. The definition of dominant T cell epitopes will allow us to create a tool to assess allergen-specific T cells in the context of different disease severities, such as rhinitis, asthma, and/or immunotherapy which will likely hold the key for improved diagnostic, biomarkers, and even novel therapeutic approaches.

A Comparative Analysis of Allergen Proteins between Plants and Animals Using Several Computational Tools and Chou’s PseAAC Concept

“…According to the previous studies, both linear and conformational B-cell epitopes and T-cell epitopes, especially MHC II binding ones, involve in allergenicity of a protein [46-51]. In this work, the B- and T-cell epitopes were predicted in conserved motifs, and then, the IgE binding of predicted epitopes were analyzed in silico.…”

Northern European collective wage bargaining in the face of major political-economic challenges: common and differing trajectories

“…This contrasts with the extensive analysis of the upheavals to CWB arrangements which featured prominently in the crisis-induced labour market reforms in several southern countries (e.g. Koukiadaki et al, 2016; Schulten and Müller, 2015). Has the assault on multi-employer CWB in favour of more fragmented, decentralised and deregulated arrangements in southern Europe brought pressures on northern countries to move in a similar direction?…”

The extension of collective agreements in France, Portugal and Spain

“…Countries in which multi-employer bargaining predominates generally have broader bargaining coverage (Visser, 2013a). The strength of multi-employer bargaining in turn is related to the existence of strong and representative bargaining partners and supportive state policies, the most important of which may be the extension of collective agreements (Schulten et al, 2015).…”