A correlation between symptom severity and unbalanced reactive IgA production in Japanese cedar pollinosis patients.

To better understand the unbalanced immunoglobulin production that occurs in pollinosis, we measured the levels of IgG, IgA, and IgE reactive to either Japanese cedar pollen, Cry j 1 protein, or Cry j 2 protein in the sera of pollinosis patients. As expected, the levels of these immunoglobulins (Igs) reactive to the three antigens were significantly higher in the patients than in the controls, and the RAST scores correlated with the levels of these Igs. Only the levels of IgA reactive to the Cry j 2 protein and IgG reactive to the Japanese cedar pollen antigen did not correlate with the RAST scores. We classified the patients into mild and severe, based on the severity of their allergic symptoms, and compared their levels of Igs. As expected, the levels of IgE reactive to Japanese cedar pollen and Cry j 1 of the severe group were significantly higher than those of the mild group. It is of note that the ratio of anti-Cry j 1 IgE to anti-Japanese cedar pollen IgA was significantly higher in the patients with severe symptoms suggesting that decreased IgA production could be responsible for the severity of pollinosis.

Effects of lysed Enterococcus faecalis FK-23 on allergen-induced peritoneal accumulation of eosinophils and serum total IgE concentration in inbred mice.

Recent clinical trials have shown the possibility of probiotics in prevention and treatment of allergic diseases. The purpose of this experimental study was to assess the influence of lysed Enterococcus faecalis FK-23 (LFK) on allergic responses in different mouse strains. We performed a comparative study on the effects of LFK for allergen-induced peritoneal accumulation of eosinophils and serum total IgE concentration by using BALB/c, C57BL/6, C3H/HeN and C3H/HeJ mice. There was no significant difference in total number of peritoneal accumulated cells induced by cedar pollen allergen between the control and LFK groups in any strain of mice (p > 0.05); however, the ratio of eosinophils to total accumulated cells was significantly decreased in LFK-treated mice of BALB/c (p = 0.016), C3H/HeN (p = 0.010) and C3H/HeJ (p = 0.004), but not C57BL/6 (p > 0.05). No significant difference in serum total IgE concentration was found between the control and LFK groups of different mouse strains (p > 0.05). These results reveal a different effect of LFK on suppressing allergen-induced local eosinophila in inbred strains of mice, suggesting the effectiveness of probiotics on limiting allergy might be under the influence of individual genetic background.

[Study of serum IgE and nasal secretion eosinophils count in patients with allergic rhinitis]

Allergic rhinitis is a chronic disease of upper respiratory tract which can be presented as asthma. Some investigators have reported a significant relationship between the disease and the number of eosinophils in nasal secretion of the patients. This study aims to evaluate the serum IgE and it's relation with nasal secretion eosinophils count in patients with allergic rhinitis. In this study, serum IgE of 92 patients with non anatomical nasal complication were investigated using ELISA method [IEMA WELL Q-D]. Nasal secretion smears of the patients were also evaluated for eosinophils count. Age, sex, profession and past history of allergic reactions in patients and their families were also investigated. 48. 9% of the patients had high titers of serum IgE [>100 IU/ml]. Also, eosinophils over 5/HPF were seen in 15. 6% of patients, nasal secretion smears. There was no significant relationship between eosinophils count and presence of allergic rhinitis in the patients. Otherwise, there was a significant correlation between rhinitis and patients, profession and their locality of living [P<0. 05]. Detection of serum IgE is mandatory for diagnosis of allergic rhinitis. Besides, it seems that nasal secretion eosinophils count alone is not a reliable finding for diagnosis of the disease

Analysis of the variations in IL-28RA gene and their association with allergic rhinitis

IL-28RA is one of the important candidate genes for complex trait of genetic diseases, but there is no published information of the genetic variation in this gene. We scanned the seven exons and their boundary introns sequence of IL-28RA including the promoter regions to analyze genetic variation sites, and identified eighteen single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and two variation sites. We chose seven SNPs (g.-1193 A>C, g.-30 C>T, g.17654 C>T, g.27798 A>G, g.31265 C>T, g.31911 C>T and g.32349 G>A) of them for large sample size genotyping, and assessed the association of genotype and allele frequencies of these SNPs between allergic rhinitis patients and non-allergic rhinitis controls. We also compared the genotype frequencies between Korean controls and Han Chinese control or Korean Chinese control. We investigated the frequencies of haplotype constructed by these SNPs between allergic rhinitis patients and non-allergic rhinitis controls. Our results suggested that the g.32349 G>A polymorphism of IL-28RA might be associated with susceptibility to allergic rhinitis (P=0.032), but seems to have no relationship with serum total IgE levels. The haplotype frequencies by these SNPs also show significant association between controls and allergic rhinitis patients.

Is the menstrual cycle affecting the skin prick test reactivity?

Allergen skin prick tests (SPT) are very sensitive and specific tests to detect allergic sensitization in atopic patients. Certain factors like antihistamines, antidepressant therapies or circadian rhythms can alter the results of SPT. In women, the changes in endogenous hormone levels throughout the menstrual cycle may affect the allergic responses and natural course of allergic diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the probable influence of the phases of the menstrual cycle on SPT reactivity to allergen extracts and histamine. Forty-two female patients with seasonal allergic rhinoconjunctivitis were enrolled in the study. Skin prick test reactivities to allergens and histamine were measured at the beginning of the menstrual cycle (3rd or 4th day), mid-cycle (14th or 15th day) and end-cycle (27th or 28th day) consecutively. Serum estradiol, progesterone, luteinizing hormone (LH), and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) levels were determined simultaneously. We observed the most significant reactions to allergens when SPT is performed at mid-cycle. However, SPT reactivity to histamine did not vary throughout the menstrual cycle. Serum estradiol and LH levels showed positive correlation with SPT reactivity to allergens at mid-cycle. Our results suggest that SPT give the best results when they are performed at mid-cycle. Additionally, allergens seem to cause mast cell degranulation to a greater extent in subjects in which endogenous hormones like estradiol and LH are elevated.

Expression of HSP70 in peripheral lymphocytes of the patients with allergic rhinitis / 华中科技大学学报（医学）（英德文版）

The expression levels of heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) from peripheral lymphocytes of the patients with allergic rhinitis (AR) and the clinical implication were investigated. In the morning, 3 ml of fasting venous blood was taken out. The lymphocytes were isolated by using Ficoll-Hypaque and the expression of HSP70 in the lymphocytes was detected by using Western blot. In the AR patients the HSP70 level (41.49 +/- 15.77 integrated optical density, IOD) were significantly higher than that in the control group (23.89 +/- 10.13 IOD, P < 0.05). Western blot demonstrated that HSP70 bands in AR patients were more intensive than those in the control group. It was concluded that the elevated HSP70 level in peripheral lymphocytes of the AR patients might contribute to the development of AR.