A perspective on the challenges and issues in developing biomarkers for human allergic risk assessments

Abstract Homeostasis in host immunity is the functional state that protects the body from disease while minimizing detrimental effects of an immune response, such as allergic, autoimmune or a suppressed immune response. As the normal human population's immunity can vary by more than two standard deviations [1–4], individuals can have wide fluctuations in how they express homeostasis. When these possible detrimental effects are considered, immunotoxicity or immune disorders can be divided into two categories: enhanced immunity (e.g., hypersensitivity, allergy, autoimmunity, sensitization and dermatitis) and suppressed immunity (e.g., hyposensitivity and immunosuppression), shown in Figure 1. Both categories represent an immune response...