ASTHMA AND GENETICS - LECTURE HELD AT INTERASMA-93 (JERUSALEM) DURINGTHE EPIDEMIOLOGY AND GENETIC SESSION ON OCTOBER 28, 1993

Hypersensitivity to environmental allergens has increased in the last years. Several authors have described the physico-chemical properties, nucleotide and amino acid sequences, and also the three-dimensional s tructure of unknown allergens. The aim is to identify T- and B-cell ep itopes and to understand the regulatory mechanism of the excessive imm une response. The induction of specific IgE antibody production in gen etically predisposed subjects is the characteristic allergens have in common. New molecular biological studies indicate that, especially in monosensitized subjects, a correlation exists between the HLA-D system and the allergen-specific IgE immune response.