Allergen-Specific Low Zone Tolerance Is Independent of MRP8/14-, TLR4-, TLR7-, and TLR9-Mediated Immune Processes

Schmidt, T; Lorenz, N; Raker, VK; Schmidgen, MI; Mahnke, K; Enk, A; Roth, J; Steinbrink K.

Abstract

Low zone tolerance (LZT) is regarded as a physiological mechanism to regulate and to circumvent allergies to contact allergens. It is induced by epicutaneous applications of low doses of haptens resulting in the generation of IL-10-producing CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ regulatory T cells and CD8+ suppressor T cells (Luckey et al., 2011, Luckey et al., 2012). LZT induction prevents the development of the Tc1-mediated contact hypersensitivity (CHS), which mimics the allergic contact dermatitis in humans. However, the role of the innate immune system during the early phase of LZT is still elusive.