Allergic diseases are immune disorders that are a global health problem, affecting a large portion of the world's population. Allergic asthma is a heterogeneous disease that alters the biology of the airway. A substantial portion of patients with asthma do not respond to conventional therapies; thus, new and effective therapeutics are needed. Dendritic cells (DCs), antigen presenting cells that regulate helper T cell differentiation, are key drivers of allergic inflammation but are not the target of current therapies. Here we review the role of dendritic cells in allergic conditions and propose a disease-modifying strategy for treating allergic asthma: cAMP-mediated inhibition of dendritic cells to blunt allergic inflammation. This approach contrasts with current treatments that focus on treating clinical manifestations of airway inflammation. Disease-modifying agents that target cAMP and its signalling pathway in dendritic cells may provide a novel means to treat asthma and other allergic diseases.
© 2020 The British Pharmacological Society.