**Strategies to Study T Cells and T Cell Targets in Allergic Disease Disease**

**Strategies to Study T Cells and T Cell Targets in Allergic** 

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.68923

Véronique Schulten

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#### Véronique Schulten Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.68923

#### **Abstract**

Type I allergy is an immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated chronic disease. As such, disease diagnosis and identification of targeted allergens are primarily based on specific IgE reactivity. Over the past decades, the contribution of T cells in allergy pathogenesis has been extensively studied. T cells are not only significant for the onset and maintenance of allergic disease but likely also play a key role for the induction of tolerance by allergen-specific immunotherapy (AIT). Due to the complexity of allergic T cell responses, epitopes have only been thoroughly mapped for the most dominant and prevalent allergens. Recently developed laboratory approaches enable us to perform thorough peptide screens, identifying T cell epitopes in known and novel allergenic targets, irrespective of their IgE reactivity. Monitoring allergen-specific T cells and their phenotype will provide insights into disease manifestation and progression on a molecular level.

However, performing such experiments in the clinic is not feasible. The definition of dominant T cell epitopes will allow us to create a tool to assess allergen-specific T cells in the context of different disease severities, such as rhinitis, asthma, and/or immunotherapy which will likely hold the key for improved diagnostic, biomarkers, and even novel therapeutic approaches.

**Keywords:** allergy, T cells, Th2, IgE, epitope
