Table 1. Summary of mucosal therapy for allergic diseases.
| Strategy | Animal model | Human studies |
|---|---|---|
| Antigen dose and formulation | Recombinant form/i.n.;43 major T epitopes/i.h.,45 i.n.46 and oral;48 monomeric allergoid/oral (intragastric administration)47 | Monomeric allergoid (Lais, Lofarma S.p.A., Milan) for mite-sensitized patients with rhinitis and intermittent asthma/SLIT48, 49 |
| Adjuvants for mucosal immunotherapy | Cholera toxin B/i.t.52 | No recent study for allergic diseases |
| CpG ODNs/i.t.53 and i.n.61 | CpG ODNs for atopic asthma (RDPC*)/i.h.64 | |
| Chitin/oral70 and i.n.;71 Chitosan/i.n.77 | Phase I/IIa study on chitin microparticles for allergic rhinitis subjects (ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: NCT00443495) | |
| Probiotics | Lactobacillus spp., Bifidobacterium spp./oral81, 82 | Clinical trial results are still diverse for each study/oral87 |
Abbreviations: i.h., inhalation; i.n., intranasal; i.t., intratracheal; ODN, oligodeoxynucleotide; RDPC*, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials; SLIT, sublingual immunotherapy.