Engineered strategies for the allergic disease therapy

Allergic diseases with high recurrence rates have severely threatened human health around the world. Several strategies have been developed including the administration of allergens or neutralizing antibodies, while allergen-specific immunotherapy (AIT) has been considered as a cure for allergic diseases. However, AIT has some drawbacks including the anaphylactic side effects of the native allergen protein during therapy, poor biodistribution of allergen in targeted organs/cells, and unsatisfactory desensitization and long-term unresponsiveness after the treatment. Biomaterials including hydrogels, nanoparticles, polymers and nanoemulsions could improve the pharmacokinetics of allergens and avoid the leakage of free allergens, thereby improving therapeutic efficacy with reduced side effects. This review summarizes the recent advances of engineered biomaterials to alleviate allergic diseases, especially in the combination with AIT. Due to the prevalence of various allergic diseases and the very limited therapeutics for allergic patients, this review will provide new insights into the development of novel biomaterials for the prevention or treatment of allergic diseases with sustained unresponsiveness.