Progress in allergen immunotherapy via advanced transdermal delivery routes

Food allergies, particularly peanuts and tree nut allergies, can trigger severe anaphylaxis, prompting the development of novel immunotherapies. Conventional allergen immunotherapies, including therapies delivered by oral, sublingual and epicutaneous routes, show variable efficacy and are limited by adverse reactions and poor adherence. This review focuses on emerging advanced transdermal immunotherapeutic techniques, including the use of jet injectors, iontophoresis, sonophoresis and microneedles, which enable minimally invasive allergen delivery to dermal antigen-presenting cells and thus improve safety, tolerance and compliance. Preclinical allergy studies indicate that such therapies offer reduced IgE and histamine production, increased allergen-specific IgG1 production in animal models, Th1 immune shifts and regulatory cytokine upregulation (e.g. IL-10), representing durable desensitisation. Although early findings support the safety and efficacy of transdermal techniques, future clinical research is needed to optimise these therapies and to extend their application to diverse and cross-reactive tree nut allergies.