Indoor versus outdoor allergens in allergic respiratory disease

Immediate hypersensitivity to indoor or outdoor allergens is strongly assoc iated with asthma or hay fever, respectively. Recent progress has defined t he sequences, tertiary structures and enzymatic functions of many of the pr oteins involved; furthermore, the immune responses to these proteins have b een examined; however, the mechanisms responsible for the dichotomous respo nse remain elusive. The resolution of such mechanisms may explain the large increase in the prevalence of eosinophil-rich inflammation of the lower re spiratory tract.