Being an immunological disease, the characteristics of allergy are those of specificity and memory. Regardless of whether the clinical manifestation is rhinoconjunctivitis, rhinitis, or asthma, the underlying immunological response disorder is based on the adverse reactions of cells in the immune system upon contact with allergens. These cells are specific for epitopes that are structural parts of allergens present in the allergenic source material. Two types of cells (i.e., T cells and B-cells) produce receptor molecules (i.e., T-cell receptors and immunoglobulin [IgE] antibodies) that, through high-affinity interactions with the allergen, efficiently catalyze the presence of even minute amounts of allergens into clinical symptoms, the extreme consequence of which may be life-threatening to the patient. (more…)

A paradigm of immune development underlies allergy development and progression in early childhood. Briefly, the immune system of the fetus is maintained in a tolerogenic state, preventing adverse immune responses and rejection between the mother and fetus. Placental interleukin-10 (IL-10) suppresses the production of immune-potentiating inter-feron gamma (IFN-y) by fetal immune cells. IFN-y downregulates the production of pro-allergic cytokines, such as IL-4 and IL-13. (more…)

Human body treated all of the food that we ate, either plants or animals, as foreign substances. It is body immune system’s function to protect us from foreign material’s intrusion which may causes harmful to us. Then why does our immune system not oppose and refuse foreign materials that we consume as food?”

Naturally, if our body totally reject those foods which get into our body, we could not survive! Then, what is it that allows for food to plainly evade the roadblock of immune cells and be taken up into our bodies? In the final process, food become an integral part of our tissues and organs, and then be used as fuel for essential body processes. Research has begun to reveal part of the answer to this important issue in our body complex immune system question: the complex series of events known as oral tolerance. (more…)