ReviewHistoric overview of allergy research in the Netherlands
Section snippets
Introduction. Linking allergology and immunology. The pre-IgE era
The relation between allergology and immunology has had its ups and downs. In the first two decades of the 20th century, when the concept of allergy was established, a relation with immunity and antibodies was generally assumed. This was to a large degree due to the fact that many allergic reactions were a side effect of the therapeutic use of animal antiserum, a condition in which precipitating antibodies were easily demonstrable. This situation changed when Coca and Cooke wrote in 1920 in The
Allergen characterization
The Dutch contribution to the history of allergen biochemistry was initially based primarily on RAST inhibition. This was a spin-off of the RAST, which was developed as a very efficient diagnostic test by Wide, Bennich and Johansson in Uppsala in 1967. After a very hospitable and helpful visit in 1970 to Gunnar Johansson in Uppsala, Aalberse introduced the test in Amsterdam at the Central Laboratory of the Blood Transfusion Service CLB (now Sanquin). The test required affinity purified anti-IgE
Antibodies: IgE and IgG4
The first signs of an involvement of IgG4, in addition to IgE in allergy date back to the 2nd International Congress of Immunology in Brighton (1974), where three groups independently presented data on this topic: Cambridge (Devey [61]), Birmingham (Stanworth) and Amsterdam (Van der Giessen and Aalberse [62]. Both pro- and anti-allergic effects of IgG4 were considered. The pro-allergic effects initially received most attention, particularly based on the studies by Parish on “short-term
T cell polarization in allergy
In 1986 an important concept in the allergic immune response was developed by Bob Coffman and Tim Mosmann at DNAX, Palo Alto, USA, that mouse T helper cells could be divided in type I and II, based on the cytokine-releasing phenotype. This phenotype was then also confirmed in humans by the group of Martien Kapsenberg, AMC Amsterdam, where Wierenga was the first to publish on human T helper clones specific for house dust mite allergen. The T cell clones from non-atopic individuals produced
The role of dendritic cells in polarizing T cells and in allergic inflammation
Later work in the group of Kapsenberg focused on dendritic cells (DC) controlling the polarization of T cells. Results by Pawel Kalinski and others in this group demonstrated that in addition to presentation of antigenic peptides (signal 1) and costimulation (signal 2), DC delivered a polarizing signal that determined the Th phenotype (Signal 3) [95]. The dendritic cells also depend on external signals for their polarizing effect. Esther de Jong in the same group described different microbial
Fate of IgE-switched B cells
Already in the early 1990s Van der Stoep et al. investigated IgE B cells from three patients with atopic dermatitis, both ex vivo and after in vitro switching [102], [103]. In the freshly isolated cells they observed only direct switching, which contrasts with the mouse data suggesting predominance of indirect switching. They investigated mostly the VH5-subset, which was over-represented in their study. They confirmed the virtual impossibility to expand IgE-positive B cells in vitro, which they
Allergic inflammation
Eosinophilic and basophilic granulocytes are considered important effector cells in allergic inflammation, are increased in the blood of allergic individuals and can be found in allergic affected tissues. De Monchy in Groningen was the first to describe that eosinophils infiltrate the pulmonary tissue after a local allergen challenge during the so-called allergic late phase reaction [117]. Similar findings were later described in nasal tissue by Godthelp for eosinophilic infiltration in nasal
Tolerance in allergy
Allergens are in general considered to be harmless antigens and therefore a typical immune response toward allergens is a tolerant one. Thepen and Holt demonstrated that the alveolar macrophage population in the lung is actively limiting the local immune response toward allergens. The macrophages achieve this by inhibiting the functions of antigen presenting cells [134]. The same Free University Medical Center (VUMC)/Australian collaborations also demonstrated that elimination of the alveolar
Genetics, epidemiology and intervention
The group of Dirkje Postma in Groningen has been examining the genetics in the development of allergy and asthma. Important in their initial work was a cohort of patients from Astmacentrum Beatrixoord in Haren. In the 1990s linkages were described by this group, in collaboration with Deborah Meyers and Eugene Bleecker from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore at chromosome 5, which region was already highlighted for the regulation of IgE [144]. With better techniques, as well as bigger
Concluding remark
Because of constraints in space and time we were unable to highlight in this review all the Dutch contributions to the field. Even so, we hope that it is clear that the impact of Dutch scientists in the allergy field has been substantial in many areas in the field. This was to a large degree due to the generous support of a.o. the Netherlands Asthma Foundation (currently the Lung Foundation Netherlands).
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