Table 2 Clinical applications of purified mite allergens and assays

•Improved allergen standardization and formulation. To develop HDM extracts with consistent amounts of major allergens for diagnosis and therapy.

•To develop formulations of purified allergens for molecular diagnostics with useful discrimination and quantitation of IgE antibody levels and to enable the measurement of allergen-specific IgG antibodies as potential prognostic markers for diagnosis.

•To provide environmental exposure assessments to improve patient education about mite allergen exposure and asthma. To develop objective assessments of allergen control procedures, methods and devices. To understand the aerodynamics and distribution of mite allergens.

•To facilitate clinical research on the cellular basis of the immune response to dust mites, including T-cell responses, antigen presentation and local immune responses in the respiratory epithelium. To expand knowledge of mite allergen interactions with the innate immune system.

•To improve the formulation, reproducibility and potency of mite allergen immunotherapeutics and to develop new strategies for immunotherapy and true prophylactic vaccines.