See no allergen, hear no allergen, speak no allergen!

Segmental allergen challenge in allergic patients with asthma reveals a previously unknown role for monocytes in the T helper 2 (T H 2)-dependent inflammatory response, whereas in allergic controls without asthma, allergen unresponsiveness seems to be maintained through epithelial-myeloid cell cross-talk that prevents T H 2 cell activation (see related Research Article by Alladina et al. ).