Optimisation of grass pollen nasal allergen challenge for assessment of clinical and immunological outcomes

We have developed a reproducible nasal allergen challenge technique. This may be used as a surrogate clinical endpoint in trials assessing the efficacy of treatments for allergic rhinitis. Tryptase in local nasal secretions is a potential biomarker of the early phase response; ECP and the Th2 cytokines IL-5, -13 and − 4 markers of late phase allergic responses. Our model allows correlation between clinical responses and local biomarkers following nasal allergen challenge.