Peripheral blood type 1 and type 2 T cells in Thai children with atopic diseases.

ABSTRACT

Several studies have shown that decreased IFN γ or increased IL 4 secretion by Tcells are associated with allergy and these can predict the development of atopic diseases. We compared the production of IL 4 and IFN γ in atopic Thai children with appropriate controls. Twenty five atopic patients and twenty four non-atopic subjects were enrolled. Production of IFN γ and IL 4 by peripheral blood mononuclear leukocytes was measured under stimulating conditions (phorbol myristate acetate). The atopic group comprised 6 atopic asthmatics and 19 allergic rhinitis patients. The results showed no significant difference in the IFN γ/ IL 4 ratio between atopic asthmatics, and allergic rhinitis patients and controls. However, the difference between asthmatics and controls was larger than between the other groups. In this study, a nonsignificant trend of overproduction of IL 4 compared with IFN γ is shown only in asthmatic children as compared to those with rhinitis and controls.