Immunological mechanisms of anti-IgE treatment

Non-anaphylactogenic anti-IgE mAb have been developed over the past decade to treat atopic allergies. These antibodies neutralize circulating IgE molecules, and thus prevent IgE from binding to its receptors, FCepsilonRI and CD23. Efficacy of anti-IgE treatment has been shown in several clinical trials, and new, unanticipated, mechanisms by which anti-IgE exerts its clinical effect are being discovered. Here we summarize a number of studies on the immunological mechanisms underlying anti-IgE treatment.