Innate and adaptive immunity in allergic airway disease

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This article explores recent findings on the involvement of innate immunity in allergic airways disease, concentrating on allergic rhinitis. RECENT FINDINGS: We speculate on the ways in which environmental influences act to initiate inflammation and on how these may have altered in recent decades. Improved understanding of the mechanisms involved may reveal future possibilities for therapy. SUMMARY: The complex nature of immunity - both innate and acquired - in airways disease has implications for prevention and for therapy and requires further elucidation.