Control of immediate hypersensitivity responses in parasitic and other diseases

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Hypereosinophilic conditions have been studied extensively, and we have identified new markers that distinguish between several important variants of this syndrome. We have instituted new therapies (imatinib, anti-IL5) for the treatment of each of these variants. The interaction between helminth infeciton and allergic disease has been studied using epidemiological tools coupled with physiological measurements of allergic disease and immunological assessments. We have demonstrated that chronic helminth infection protects against allergic diseases. Studies done to date have demonstrated the CD4+ cells (and neither the monocytes nor the basophils) are the overwhelmingly major source of IL-10 in chronic filarial infection but they are not CD25+. We have also demonstrated that IgE mediated responses persist for decades even in the absence of antigen stimulation. We have developed quantitative methods for examination of germline transcription for each of the antibody isotypes and have begun to use these methods to examine the molecular events that occur when antigens induce specific switch recombination events. Also baseline IgE and IgG4 germline transcription profiles have been measured in patients with allergic and parasitic infections and associated elevations of IgE and IgG4.