Evolutionary origins and modern rise of allergic diseases: an integrative framework
- 1Allergy and Clinical Immunology Unit, Department of Medicine, Hadassah Medical Organization, Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
- 2The Lautenberg Center for Immunology and Cancer Research, Institute of Medical Research Israel-Canada (IMRIC), Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Abstract
Allergic diseases have become increasingly prevalent in recent decades, prompting significant research into their evolutionary origins and the mechanisms that drive these immune responses. A range of evolutionary models has been developed to account for both the emergence and modern rise of allergic conditions. The main explanations encompass parasite defense, reduced microbial exposure and hygiene-related factors, mechanisms of tissue damage detection, and immune surveillance acting as an early warning system. Explaining why the immune system reacts inappropriately to harmless antigens demands an evolutionary lens: one that integrates ancestral adaptive roles with present-day environmental shifts. Rather than proposing a new evolutionary theory, this narrative review synthesizes competing and complementary evolutionary explanations for allergic type 1 hypersensitivity, IgE-mediated disease within a unified immunological framework, thus emphasizing recent advances in epithelial biology, immune surveillance, and type 2 inflammation that have emerged over the last decade.
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BibTeX
@article{brami2026evolutionary,
title = {{Evolutionary origins and modern rise of allergic diseases: an integrative framework}},
author = {Ido Brami and Yuval Tal and Oded Shamriz},
journal = {Frontiers in Immunology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fimmu.2026.1971408},
url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2026.1971408/full},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Evolutionary origins and modern rise of allergic diseases: an integrative framework
AU - Ido Brami
AU - Yuval Tal
AU - Oded Shamriz
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/26
JO - Frontiers in Immunology
DO - 10.3389/fimmu.2026.1971408
UR - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2026.1971408/full
AB - Allergic diseases have become increasingly prevalent in recent decades, prompting significant research into their evolutionary origins and the mechanisms that drive these immune responses. A range of evolutionary models has been developed to account for both the emergence and modern rise of allergic conditions. The main explanations encompass parasite defense, reduced microbial exposure and hygiene-related factors, mechanisms of tissue damage detection, and immune surveillance acting as an early warning system. Explaining why the immune system reacts inappropriately to harmless antigens demands an evolutionary lens: one that integrates ancestral adaptive roles with present-day environmental shifts. Rather than proposing a new evolutionary theory, this narrative review synthesizes competing and complementary evolutionary explanations for allergic type 1 hypersensitivity, IgE-mediated disease within a unified immunological framework, thus emphasizing recent advances in epithelial biology, immune surveillance, and type 2 inflammation that have emerged over the last decade.
SN - 1664-3224
ER -