Informatics in allergology

Allergic diseases have a high prevalence among populations worldwide affecting nearly 10-30% individuals. The gap between allergy incidence and currently available treatment options needs to be filled. Computational approaches aim to bridge this gap by utilizing and annotating existing knowledge on allergic proteins along with providing novel predictions and insights. In silico methods can be employed for identifying several factors pertaining to allergens such as structural characterization, determination of allergenicity of proteins, prediction of epitope sites, interactions with antibodies and immune receptors as well as in design of immune therapeutics. This review summarises the vital role of informatics in allergology and the exhaustive approaches available that assist in identification of novel aspects related to allergens.