The prospects of allergic rhinitis therapy based on high-technology developments

Abstract

Allergies are a global medical problem, because about 25% of the population in some industrial regions suffers from any allergic disease, the prevalence of allergies is steadily growing around the world, which is apparently associated with the global changes in human environment. The achievements of the recent years have resulted in new medical technologies based on the ≪exploitation≫ of dendritic cells. Dendritic cells are professional antigen-presenting cells of the immune system that are capable of both stimulating and suppressing the immune response. The use of immunoregulatory potential of dendritic cells is promising for treatment of oncological diseases, autoimmune diseases and prevention of transplant rejection. Clinical trials show that dendritic cells-based vaccines can efficiently induce an immune response against the antigens presented to them. In the course of scientific research, the authors developed a concept of medical technology of using dendritic cells to treat allergies. Dendritic cells, obtained from the patient’s blood cells, were loaded with allergens, producing allergic reactions. The cells of the particular person obtained this way were returned to it by means of intradermal injection. In essence, the suggested procedure is an enhanced version of the widely used hyposensitization method. However, the use of dendritic cells in cocombination with activated lymphocytes resulted in radical increase in the efficiency of the suggested approach.