Abstract
Although the house dust mite has been recognised as the most important indoor allergen for over 25 years the development of effective therapeutic strategies against dust mite allergies has been hampered by the difficulties involved in characterising the antigens produced by the organism. Until recently, the only materials available for clinical investigation were crude extracts of dried mites. With the advent of molecular cloning however, scientists have begun the process of accurately characterising each of the allergens produced by the dust mite. The ultimate aim is to learn enough to be able to produce specific therapeutic agents for some of the major allergic disorders like asthma, which are caused by these allergens.