Issues to be solved for standardization of oral immune therapy

Abstract

A placebo-controlled trial of oral immunotherapy in 37 subjects with hen's egg allergy was performed using hypoallergenized hen's egg. Changes in immunological parameters were analyzed before and after the immunotherapy.
In the hypoallergenized hen's egg treated group, tolerance to egg white was induced in 6/23 (26.1%)patients within one month, and in 9/23 (39.1%)within two months. In the placebo group, the percentage of tolerance induction was 9.1%. Immunological analysis demonstrated an elevation of egg specific IgG4, suppressions of both INF-γ and IL-4 expression, and an increase of TGF-β transcription after immunotherapy, suggesting TGF-β might suppress both Th1/Th2 cytokines as a consequence of immunotherapy.
The results of this study implied the importance of clinical trials in combination with immunological analysis to elucidate the mechanism of immunotherapy.