Urticaria and angioedema.
Authors: Maurer M
Abstract
Urticaria and angioedema are ancient diseases. Many different names have been used to describe them, and many different theories have been postulated to explain their origin and pathogenesis. The current classification and nomenclature of urticaria and angioedema have evolved over several millennia, with many detours and problems, some of which still remain to be solved. This chapter describes the history of urticaria and angioedema. The evolution of selected aspects of today's understanding of both conditions is also traced, based on the review of original sources and previously...
Source: Chemical Immunology and Allergy - December 2, 2014 Category: Allergy & Immunology Tags: Chem Immunol Allergy Source Type: research
Allergy and the eye.
Authors: Bonini S
Abstract
This review of the major milestones in the history of ocular allergy and immunology shows how significantly this subdiscipline has contributed to the tremendous progress in the understanding of mechanisms of allergic and immunologic diseases, as well as in their better management. It also indicates unmet needs and priority areas for future research.
PMID: 24925390 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Chemical Immunology and Allergy)
Source: Chemical Immunology and Allergy - December 2, 2014 Category: Allergy & Immunology Tags: Chem Immunol Allergy Source Type: research
History of food allergy.
Authors: Wüthrich B
Abstract
In this chapter we will first consider whether there is real evidence on the basis of literature for early descriptions in antiquity of pathogenic reactions after food intake that could be comparable to allergy, for instance in the scriptures of Hippocrates or Lucretius. On this topic we are skeptical, which is in agreement with the medical historian Hans Schadewaldt. We also assert that it is unlikely that King Richard III was the first food-allergic individual in medical literature. Most probably it was not a well-planned poisoning ('allergy') with strawberries, but rather a...
Source: Chemical Immunology and Allergy - December 2, 2014 Category: Allergy & Immunology Tags: Chem Immunol Allergy Source Type: research
Drug hypersensitivity.
Authors: Bircher AJ
Abstract
Before the arrival of modern pharmacotherapy, drug hypersensitivity reactions were virtually unknown. Toxicity from the many plant-, animal- and inorganic material-derived remedies must have been much more common. One famous example is the intoxications from mercury, which has been used in many ailments, but particularly for the treatment of syphilis. It was only in the 19th century when more and more active principles from e.g. plants were identified, and when the observations of skin reactions became more prevalent. In 1877, Heinrich Köbner used for the first time the term '...
Source: Chemical Immunology and Allergy - December 2, 2014 Category: Allergy & Immunology Tags: Chem Immunol Allergy Source Type: research
Aspirin hypersensitivity.
This article presents an overview of the observations that led to the discovery of cyclooxygenase inhibitors, as a prerequisite to better understand the basic concepts supporting seminal investigations carried out in order to elucidate the clinical features, pathogenic mechanisms, diagnosis and modern management of these common conditions. There are some unmet needs in this clinical area which will have to be solved in the future, especially concerning the pathogenesis of these reactions and the availability of novel in vitro diagnostic methods sparing both patient and physician of the risks inherent to in vivo provocation...
Source: Chemical Immunology and Allergy - December 2, 2014 Category: Allergy & Immunology Tags: Chem Immunol Allergy Source Type: research
Bradykinin-mediated diseases.
Authors: Kaplan AP
Abstract
Diseases which have been demonstrated to be caused by increased plasma levels of bradykinin all have angioedema as the common major clinical manifestation. Angioedema due to therapy with angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors is caused by suppressed bradykinin degradation so that it accumulates. This occurs because ACE metabolizes bradykinin by removal of Phe-Arg from the C-terminus, which inactivates it. By contrast, angioedema due to C1 inhibitor deficiency (either hereditary types I and II, or acquired) is caused by bradykinin overproduction. C1 inhibitor inhibits fac...
Source: Chemical Immunology and Allergy - December 2, 2014 Category: Allergy & Immunology Tags: Chem Immunol Allergy Source Type: research
The discovery of immunoglobulin e and its role in allergy.
Authors: Johansson SG
Abstract
Immunoglobulin E (IgE) was discovered in 1967. Today, more than 40 years after the discovery, the normal beneficial function in the body of this enigmatic immunoglobulin still remains unclear. However, ever since the discovery new knowledge about allergic diseases and allergens, new treatments and new diagnostic tools have continued to emerge as a direct result of our ability to identify and measure IgE and IgE antibodies.
PMID: 24925395 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Chemical Immunology and Allergy)
Source: Chemical Immunology and Allergy - December 2, 2014 Category: Allergy & Immunology Tags: Chem Immunol Allergy Source Type: research
T cell subpopulations.
Authors: Romagnani S
Abstract
The role of allergen-specific CD4+ effector type 2 helper (Th2) cells in the pathogenesis of allergic disorders is an established fact. Th2 cells produce interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-13, which induce immunoglobulin E production by B cells, and IL-5 that allows recruitment of eosinophils. Two main mechanisms control the Th2-mediated allergic inflammation: immune deviation (or Th1 redirection) and immune regulation. Regulatory T (Treg) cells exhibit a CD4+ phenotype and include Foxp3-positive thymic and induced Tregs, as well as Foxp3-negative IL-10-producing cells. Both immune dev...
Source: Chemical Immunology and Allergy - December 2, 2014 Category: Allergy & Immunology Tags: Chem Immunol Allergy Source Type: research
Mast cell research.
Authors: Saito H
Abstract
The role of mast cells in allergy remained unrevealed until the observation that they contained histamine in 1953, and then the discovery of immunoglobulin E (IgE) in 1966, nearly a century after Ehrlich's first publication. After the discovery of IgE, myeloma-derived IgE from Peter Shackford, who made a great contribution to mankind by providing 40 liters of plasma in the year prior to his death, was distributed to many researchers. This accelerated the exploration of the mechanisms involved in allergic reactions, especially regarding the role of mast cells in IgE-mediated reacti...
Source: Chemical Immunology and Allergy - December 2, 2014 Category: Allergy & Immunology Tags: Chem Immunol Allergy Source Type: research
Basophils: historical reflections and perspectives.
Authors: Marone G, Borriello F, Varricchi G, Genovese A, Granata F
Abstract
Basophils were discovered by Paul Ehrlich in 1879 and account for less than 1% of blood leukocytes, which suggests a tightly controlled regulation of basopoiesis. The conservation of basophils in a wide spectrum of the animal kingdom suggests a non-redundant role in innate and adaptive immunity. In the early 1990s, it was demonstrated that murine and human basophils synthesize interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-13, thereby suggesting that these cells are important for Th2 polarization and IgE synthesis. Human basophils also synthesize IL-3,...
Source: Chemical Immunology and Allergy - December 2, 2014 Category: Allergy & Immunology Tags: Chem Immunol Allergy Source Type: research
Eosinophils.
Authors: Radonjic-Hösli S, Simon HU
Abstract
In 1846, T. Wharton-Jones described a coarsely granular stage in the development of granulocytic cells in animal and human blood. Shortly thereafter, Max Schultze redefined the coarsely granular cells as a type distinct from finely granular cells, rather than just a developmental stage. It was, however, not until 1879, when Paul Ehrlich introduced a method to distinguish granular cells by the staining properties of their granules, that a classification became possible. An intensive staining for eosin, among other aniline dyes, was eponymous for the coarsely gra...
Source: Chemical Immunology and Allergy - December 2, 2014 Category: Allergy & Immunology Tags: Chem Immunol Allergy Source Type: research
The bradykinin-forming cascade: a historical perspective.
Authors: Kaplan AP
Abstract
The formation of bradykinin in plasma requires interaction of three proteins, namely coagulation factor XII (Hageman factor), prekallikrein and high-molecular-weight kininogen (HK). Prekallikrein and HK circulate as a bimolecular complex. Initiation of the cascade upon binding to negatively charged surfaces (or macromolecules) is dependent on factor XII autoactivation, conversion of prekallikrein to kallikrein, and a feedback activation of factor XII by kallikrein. The latter reaction is extremely rapid relative to factor XII autoactivation. The kallikrein then digests HK to lib...
Source: Chemical Immunology and Allergy - December 2, 2014 Category: Allergy & Immunology Tags: Chem Immunol Allergy Source Type: research
Histamine receptors and antihistamines: from discovery to clinical applications.
Authors: Cataldi M, Borriello F, Granata F, Annunziato L, Marone G
Abstract
The synthesis and the identification of histamine marked a milestone in both pharmacological and immunological research. Since Sir Henry Dale and Patrick Laidlaw described some of its physiological effects in vivo in 1910, histamine has been shown to play a key role in the control of gastric acid secretion and in allergic disorders. Using selective agonists and antagonists, as well as molecular biology tools, four histamine receptors (H1R, H2R, H3R and H4R) have been identified. The Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine was awarde...
Source: Chemical Immunology and Allergy - December 2, 2014 Category: Allergy & Immunology Tags: Chem Immunol Allergy Source Type: research
Pollen and pollinosis.
Authors: Smith M, Berger U, Behrendt H, Bergmann KC
Abstract
Pollen grains only represent a small fraction of the total amount of the viable biological particles present in the air, but pollen are the most important aeroallergens in the outdoor environment. The analysis of pollen has traditionally been carried out by microscopy, which can be traced back to the 17th century. Modern advances in molecular analysis could improve information for allergy sufferers and health care professionals. Pollen allergy (pollinosis) was first described in the 19th century. The prevalence of respiratory diseases increased d...
Source: Chemical Immunology and Allergy - December 2, 2014 Category: Allergy & Immunology Tags: Chem Immunol Allergy Source Type: research
Mites and allergy.
Authors: Fernández-Caldas E, Puerta L, Caraballo L
Abstract
Allergic diseases triggered by mite allergens include allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, asthma, atopic dermatitis and other skin diseases. Since the early discovery of the allergenic role of mites of the genus Dermatophagoides in the mid 1960s, numerous species have been described as the source of allergens capable of sensitizing and inducing allergic symptoms in sensitized and genetically predisposed individuals. The main sources of allergens in house dust worldwide are the fecal pellets of the mite species D. pteronyssinus, D. farinae, Euroglyphus ...
Source: Chemical Immunology and Allergy - December 2, 2014 Category: Allergy & Immunology Tags: Chem Immunol Allergy Source Type: research
