Main description:

Allergic diseases have dramatically increased in prevalence in recent decades. However, while the genetic basis and the mechanisms of the allergic reaction are becoming ever clearer to researchers, there is still a tremendous gap between research results and actual practice in many allergists' offices. This volume provides much-needed help. Every two years, 200 of the world's leading allergists gather for an intimate and friendly symposium organized by the Collegium Internationale Allergologicum to discuss cutting-edge results of allergy research and future therapeutic options. This volume collects a series of excellent papers presented there, covering topics such as gene-environment interaction, T cell regulation, basic mechanisms of effector cell function, mast cells, psychoneuroallergology, asthma, food allergy, eczema, drug reactions, diagnostics and the latest progress in pharmacotherapy, as well as nonspecific and specific immunotherapy.

Contents:

Preface; Basic Mechanisms; * Allergy is in the Blood at Birth; * Interleukin-4/13-Induced Activation of STAT 6 is Regulated by SOCS; * Th1-Mediated Inflammation as a Potential Pathogenic Factor in Allergic Disease; * Healthy or Allergic Immune Response Characterized by Fine Balance Between Specific T Regulatory 1 and T Helper 2 Cells; * Indications for the Existence of an IgE Isotype - Specific Signal Transduction; * Differential Expression of IgA-Positive Plasma Cells in Palatine Tonsils of Bet v 1-Allergic Patients and Healthy Individuals; * Survivin - A Key Regulator of Neutrophil and Eosinophil Survival; * Expression of CD8-a on Human Monocytes and Alveolar Macrophages; * Autoimmunity and Allergy: A Bioinformatic Approach; Dendritic Cells; * Dendritic Cells and Regulatory T-Cells in the Allergic Immune Response and its Modulation; * Expression of High Affinity IgE Receptors on Skin- and Blood-Derived Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells in Inflammatory Skin Diseases; * M-DC8 Dendritic Cells as Potent Inducers of Th1 Polarized Immune Responses; * Characteristics of Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells in Patients with Atopic Dermatitis; Mast Cells; * Activation of SPHK 1 in Mast Cells by Tyrosine Kinase Lyn; * Comparative Database for Transcriptomes of Human and Mouse Inflammatory Cells; * Mast Cell Inhibition by a2-Adrenoceptor Agonists; * Effects of Cannabinoid Agonists on Histamine Release from Activated Human Skin Mast Cells; * Expression and Function of Inhibitory and Activatory Receptors on Mast Cells and Eosinophils: New Mechanisms in Mast Cell-Eosinophil Crosstalk; * Relaxin Inhibits Activation of Human Neutrophils in vitro by a Nitric-Oxide-Dependent Mechanism; Allergens; * Cloning, Expression, Characterization, and Skin Prick Testing of NADPH-Dependent Mannitol Dehydrogenase: A New Major Allergen of Cladosporium herbarum; * Cosensitization to Cockroach and Mite Is Not Explained by Tropomyosin Cross-Reactivity; * Can Chinese Elm Pollen Cause Asthma?; * Inhalation Allergy and Desensitization to a Cysteine Protease Allergen; * Apple Allergy: Different Patient Allergen Recognition Patterns Across Europe, Studied by Use of Recombinant Allergens; * Intracellular Targeting: A New Concept for the Development of Efficient Vaccines; * The Molecular Requirements for Allergenicity; Infection and Allergy; * Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor [gamma] Ligands Have Antiviral and Anti-Inflammatory Activity in the Course of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection; * Differences in Bifidobacterium Species in Early Infancy and Development of Allergy; * Comparison of Expression and Function of Toll-Like Receptors in Eosinophils and Neutrophils; * Human T-Cells of Atopic and Nonatopic Donors Are Activated by Staphylococcal [alpha]-Toxin; Skin, Nerves, and Allergy; * Increased Apoptosis of Circulating Memory/Effector Th1 Cells in Atopic Diseases as Mechanism for Th2 Predominance; * Reduced Number of Cytokine-Expressing Inflammatory Cells in AD After Topical Tacrolimus Treatment; * New Methods for Quantitative and Qualitative Assessment of Itch; * Expression of Two Neuropeptide Receptors, Calcitonin-Gene-Related Peptide, and Somatostatin in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells from Patients with Atopic Dermatitis and Nonatopic Controls; * The Influence of Neuropeptides on Cytokine Production in Peripheral TCells in Atopic Dermatitis Patients with Acute and Chronic Lesions and in Controls; * Eotaxin-1 SNP Associations in Allergic Conjunctivitis; * Neurotrophins in Allergic Bronchial Asthma: Modulators of Immunological and Neuronal Plasticity; * Neuroimmunological Crosstalk in Atopic Dermatitis: Critical Role of Neurotrophins in Eosinophil Function; Asthma; * Kinetics of Cytokine Production by Human Lung Tissue; * 21-Year Longitudinal Study of Healthy Infants Correlates with Atopy, Allergic Disease, and Asthma (The RIFYL Study; * Angiogenesis and Remodeling of Airway Vasculature in Asthma; * Protease-Activated Receptor-2 Enhances Allergen-Induced Airway Inflammation and Airway Hyperresponsiveness; * Glucocorticoids Promote T Regulatory Cells in Asthma by Increasing FOXP3 Expression; * The Phenotype of Steroid-Dependent Severe Asthma Is Not Associated with Increased Lung Levels of Th-2 Cytokines; * Bronchial Smooth Muscle Cells Apoptosis in Airway Remodeling; Food Allergy; * In vitro Methods for Monitoring the Development of Clinical Tolerance to Foods; * In vitro Methods for Assessing the Potential Severity of Food Allergic Reactions; * Eosinophilic Esophagitis: New Clinical and Pathophysiological Insights; * Histamine Release for Determination of Systemically Absorbed Allergenic Proteins in Humans; * Proton Pump Inhibitors Promote Oral Sensitization to Hazelnut; * Oral Threshold Levels and in vivo Basophil Activation in Hazelnut Allergic Patients During Oral Provocation Tests; * Digestion-Sensitive Wheat Proteins Can Induce Food Allergy; Diagnostics; * What Can We Learn from the Ratio of IgG1/IgG4 Antibodies to Allergens?; * Immunoglobulin-Free Light Chains in Immediate and Delayed Hypersensitivity Reactions; * Expression of Plasma Cell Markers CD38, CD138, Intracellular IgE, and XBP-1 in the Plasmacytoid Cell Line U266; * Improvement of the in vitro Diagnostic of Natural Rubber Latex Allergy: Estimation of Cross-Reactivity Through Application of Recombinant and Natural Single Allergens; * Hypersensitivity to NSAID Drugs: A New Integrated Approach to Its Pathophysiological Understanding and Diagnosis; * Pollen-Associated Food Allergy: In vitro Diagnosis by Recombinant Allergens and CD63 Expression of Basophils; * Immediate Adverse Reactions to Cephalosporins: Study of in vitro Crossreactivity by Determining Specific IgE to Different Betalactams; Therapy; * Anti-Interleukin-5 in the Treatment of Hypereosinophilic Skin Diseases; * Lack of Availability of Epinephrine for First-Aid Treatment of Anaphylaxis Worldwide; * A Candidate Vaccine for Specific Immunotherapy in Latex Allergy: Hypoallergenic Variants of Hev b 6.01.; * Randomized Controlled Trial of Specific Immunotherapy on Allergic Inflammation in Atopic Dermatitis Patients with Sensitization to House Dust Mites; * Allergy Prophylaxis by DNA Vaccination Inhibits Specific IgE Response and Lung Pathologic Parameters in a Mouse Model; * Quality of Life and Compliance in Patients Allergic to Grass and Rye Pollen During a 3-Year Treatment with Specific Immunotherapy (The LQC Study); * Targeting M-Cells for Induction of a Th1-Immune Response in Allergic Mice; * Successful Mucosal Immunotherapy in Asthma Induces Tolerance and M. vaccae Potentiates IL-10-Related Tolerance in a Murine Asthma Model; * Molecular Basis of the Anti-IgE Therapy; * Inhibition of IgE-Facilitated by Allergen Presentation: A Longitudinal Study of Grass-Pollen Immunotherapy.