IgE-mediated
allergies affect more than 25% of the population.
Allergen-specific
immunotherapy (SIT) is an
antigen-specific and disease-modifying form of treatment. It is based on the therapeutic administration of the disease-causing
allergens to allergic patients. However, the fact that only
allergen extracts of insufficient quality are currently available and the possible occurrence of side effects during treatment limit the broad use of SIT and prophylactic vaccination is has not yet been performed. In the last 20 years the DNA sequences of the most common
allergens have been isolated and the corresponding
allergens have been produced as recombinant
allergens. Based on the progress made in the field of
allergen characterization it is possible to improve the quality and safety of
allergy vaccines and to develop new, more effective strategies for a broad application of SIT and even for prophylactic treatment. Here we discuss the development of
combination vaccines for
allergy and
infectious diseases. This approach is based on the selection of
allergen-derived
peptides with reduced
IgE- and T cell reactivity in order to minimize
IgE- and T cell-mediated side effects as well as the potential of the
vaccine to induce allergic sensitization. These
peptides are fused by recombinant technology onto a viral
carrier protein to obtain a combination
vaccine which induces protective immunity against
allergy and
viral infections. The application of such
combination vaccines for
therapy and prophylaxis of
allergy and
infectious diseases is discussed.