Regulatory natural killer cell expression in atopic childhood asthma

Introduction: Different subsets of natural killer [NK] cells were found to play a role in pathogenesis of allergy. We sought to investigate the expression of regulatory NK cells [CD56+CD16+CD158+] in atopic children with bronchial asthma in order to outline the value of these cells as biomarkers of disease severity and/or control

Methods: A cross sectional controlled study was carried out in the Pediatric Allergy and Immunology Unit, Ain Shams University. The study included 45 atopic children [mean age[SD]= [2.9] years] with bronchial asthma [BA] and/or allergic rhinitis [AR]as well as 40 healthy matched controls. Enrolled subjects underwent complete blood counting and flow cytometric measurement of NK cell [CD16+ CD56+] and regulatory NK cells [CD16+CD56+CD158+]

Results: Patients had significantly higher regulatory NK cell percentages [mean [SD]= 41 [52] %] than controls [mean [SD]=15 [7.1]]; p

Conclusions: Regulatory NK cells seem to be increased in childhood asthma. We recommend wider scale prospective studies on steroid-naive subjects involving measurement of cytokines that are secreted by different types of NK cells

Analysis of the filed data of a sample of Egyptian children with bronchial asthma

Identification of the clinical profile of asthma in a community is crucial to the understanding of the growing disease burden. We sought to evaluate the clinical characteristics and management outcome of a sample of asthmatic children from Cairo city and its suburbs. This retrospective study analyzed the data of 422 consecutively numbered files of asthmatic children from the Pediatric Allergy and Immunology Unit of Am Shams University Children's Hospital. Data collected included the age at onset, duration of follow up, precipitating factors, feeding history, clinical severity, presence of other allergic diseases and outcome and course of the disease. This is besides the available results of laboratory and imaging studies and the treatment received including the routes and types of therapy. The results revealed that 197 children [46.7%] had bronchial asthma only while 225 [53.3%] had concomitant allergic disorders. Males outnumbered females and urban residents outnumbered suburban and rural residents and all cases belonged to the low and middle social and economic community sectors. A positive family history of allergy in general was evident in about 40% of cases. Viral infection was the most common precipitating factor for exacerbations. Mild and moderate persistent asthma were more frequent than the severe variety [15.10%, 10.20%, and 1.50%]. Serum total IgE and peripheral blood eosinophil counts were elevated and atopy was evident in most cases. Inhaled corticosteroid therapy was the most commonly prescribed treatment in the current study but compliance was generally poor. Wider scale multi-center studies in Cairo and other localities of Egypt are needed to outline the profile of childhood asthma in the whole country using a population rather than a referral center-based approach