Allergic inflammation: where epithelial function interacts with immune response in atopic diseases

Current hot topics in allergy and asthma were presented this year at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) in Washington, D.C. Understanding the natural history of allergic diseases is an area of interest because it could help to identify relevant biomarkers to predict allergy early in infancy. An abnormal epithelial barrier allows easy access to allergens/ pathogens and such a dysfunction could also be involved in the initiation of the natural course of allergic diseases. In addition, newly identified cytokines produced by epithelial cells such as thymic stromal lymphopoietin, interleukin-33 (IL-33) and IL-25 are involved in the generation of T helper type 2 (Th2) cell response. Genetic studies are also providing relevant information on biomarkers and new targets for allergy and asthma. Different genetic studies to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms of relevant mediators of allergy in patients, application of gene array analysis to identify biomarkers during asthma exacerbation, and IL-13-induced inflammatory events, are some examples of the interesting information presented at the AAAAI this year.