Induction of allergen-specific blocking IgG using patch delivered recombinant Bet v 1 in guinea pigs.

Background Allergen-specific immunotherapy (SIT) is the only specific, disease-modifying treatment for allergy and may have long-lasting effects. It is given traditionally in the form of multiple subcutaneous injections which makes the treatment inconvenient. Furthermore, systemic allergenadministration may cause severe side effects. Therefor the development of alternative routes for SIT has been a longsought goal. The aim of this study was to investigate if epicutaneous application of recombinant birch pollen allergen Bet v 1 (i.e., patch vaccination) can induce systemic allergen-specific IgG responses with protective activity.