Epigenetics changes during allergen immunotherapy - Review of available literature

Allergic diseases are very broad ranging conditions and affect the health and comfort of patients in different manners. To date, the only effective treatment is allergen immunotherapy. Unfortunately, apart from observations of drug use or the severity of symptoms, there is no direct method of determining the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of the medical intervention that has been provided. The hope of gaining insight into the adaptive processes occurring in the body during immunotherapy is offered by epigenetics. By observing such areas of biological activity as DNA methylation, modification of histone proteins, or studies of non-coding RNA fragments, physicians will gain reliable tools for determining the effectiveness of the undertaken therapy. They can link the data acquired to the expression levels of specific genes that activate or suppress the immune response, perhaps even before it is initiated. This paper describes the basic epigenetic mechanisms, their known links to specific diseases and therapies, and potential areas for further research.