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The development of allergic inflammation

Nature volume 454, pages 445–454 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

Allergic disorders, such as anaphylaxis, hay fever, eczema and asthma, now afflict roughly 25% of people in the developed world. In allergic subjects, persistent or repetitive exposure to allergens, which typically are intrinsically innocuous substances common in the environment, results in chronic allergic inflammation. This in turn produces long-term changes in the structure of the affected organs and substantial abnormalities in their function. It is therefore important to understand the characteristics and consequences of acute and chronic allergic inflammation, and in particular to explore how mast cells can contribute to several features of this maladaptive pattern of immunological reactivity.

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Figure 1: Sensitization to allergens in the airway.
Figure 2: Highly simplified scheme of FcɛRI signalling events in mast cells.
Figure 3: Early phase of allergen-induced airway inflammation.
Figure 4: Late phase of allergen-induced airway inflammation.
Figure 5: Chronic stage of allergen-induced airway inflammation.
Figure 6: Chronic allergic inflammation and tissue remodelling in asthma.

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Acknowledgements

We thank G. Berry and J. Kalesnikoff for help with the figures, C. M. Hawrylowicz and members of the Galli laboratory for critical reading of the manuscript, and the National Institutes of Health for financial support.

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  1. Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, 300 Pasteur Drive, Stanford, 94305, California, USA

    Stephen J. Galli, Mindy Tsai & Adrian M. Piliponsky

  2. Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University School of Medicine, 300 Pasteur Drive, Stanford, 94305, California, USA

    Stephen J. Galli

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S.J.G. is occasionally a consultant for Genentech and Novartis, which produce omalizumab (an anti-asthma therapeutic that is mentioned in this Review). S.J.G. is also on the Scientific Advisory Board of Tunitas Therapeutics, which hopes to develop products for treating allergies and asthma.

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Correspondence should be addressed to S.J.G. (sgalli@stanford.edu).

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Galli, S., Tsai, M. & Piliponsky, A. The development of allergic inflammation. Nature 454, 445–454 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature07204

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