ABSTRACT
Peanut allergy is a growing problem globally carrying a huge socioeconomic burden for patients, families and the community. Molecular characterization of peanut allergens has facilitated elucidation of the underlying immune response to peanut proteins, which drives the clinical reactivity. Peanut allergy generally emerges early in life, typically by the second year after encounter with peanut food products, frequently peanut butter in westernized societies. Ingestion of peanuts may trigger allergic symptoms within minutes to several hours with clinical features ranging from mild oropharyngeal irritation through to life threatening anaphylaxis. Development of allergen immunotherapy for potent allergens such as peanut requires elucidation of underlying immune events. Conventional allergen immunotherapy for peanut allergy using unfractionated peanut extracts is an area of active clinical research but is not currently recommended in clinical practice due to the unacceptably high risk of anaphylaxis. The molecular characterization of allergens has greatly facilitated the development of specific therapeutics for allergy.
