Strategies for the Modification and Evaluation of Allergenicity

Allergic disease is a global public health problem with increasing attention being paid to the evaluation and modification of allergenicity. The major aim of this chapter is to provide an overview of the field of allergenicity evaluation and modification focusing on bioinformatics evaluation, in vitro evaluation, and in vivo evaluation, which are the most commonly used methods for allergenicity evaluation, followed by information on allergenicity modification, which is required to reduce the allergenicity of the allergen proteins. Site-directed mutagenesis and error-prone PCR, which are used to modify allergenicity, are elucidated and summarized in this chapter. The field of allergenicity evaluation and modification is expected to lay the foundation for the future safe application of allergen reagents.