Table 1.
List of licensed and potential strategies for treating food allergies.
| Therapy | Mechanism of Action | Population | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allergen specific | |||
| Allergy immunotherapy OIT * SLIT * EPIT * |
Prolonged exposure to antigen restores the Th1/Th2 * balance, promoting Treg * activity | Pediatric Adult |
Clinical trials (Phase 3) |
| Allergen non specific | |||
| Cytokines | Influence with inflammatory pathways | NA * | Murine models Clinical trials (Phase 2) |
| Toll Like receptors | Activate the immune response Enhance the tolerogenic response Restore the Th1/Th2 balance |
NA | Murine models |
| Cellular target | Trigger immune tolerance Inhibition IgE transport Reduction in Th2-driven inflammation |
NA | Murine models |
| Anti-IgE | Inactivaction IgE * Prevention of stimulation of high affinity IgE-receptor |
Pediatric Adult |
Clinical trials (Phase 2) |
| Anti-IgE with OIT | Improve efficacy OIT Improve safety OIT |
Pediatric Adult |
Clinical trials (Phase 2) |
| Probiotics | Immune-modulation Competitive exclusion Release of gut mucin secretion Production of compounds inhibiting the growth of other bacteria |
Pediatric Adult |
Clinical trials |
| Gene therapy | Persistent release of anti-human IgE | NA | Murine models |
* OIT: oral immunotherapy; SLIT: sublingual immunotherapy; EPIT: epicutaneous immunotherapy; Th1: lymphocytes T helper 1; Th2: lymphocytes T helper 2; Treg: Regulatory T; NA: not applicable; IgE: immunoglobulin E.