Ciprandi Giorgio, Fenoglio Daniela, Cirillo Ignazio, Vizzaccaro Andrea, Ferrera Alessandra, Tosca Maria Angela, Puppo Francesco
Dipartimento Regionale Testa-Collo, Azienda Ospedale Università San Martino, Genoa, Italy.
Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2005 Jul;95(1):38-44. doi: 10.1016/S1081-1206(10)61186-6.
Subcutaneous specific immunotherapy has been demonstrated to be capable of inducing T-cell regulatory response. Interleukin 10 (IL-10) plays a crucial role in inducing allergen-specific tolerance; however, no previous studies have examined IL-10 production after sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT).
To evaluate T-cell proliferation and IL-10 production in patients successfully treated with SLIT for house dust mites (HDMs).
Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated from patients after at least 3 years of successful HDM SLIT and from matched untreated allergic patients and healthy control subjects. After 3 and 6 days of in vitro stimulation with phytohemagglutinin (PHA), Candida albicans, and Dermatophagoides farinae, proliferation and production of IL-10 were measured.
Patients treated with SLIT showed a significant reduction of proliferation induced by C albicans compared with untreated atopic patients (P < .001), but a significant reduction was also demonstrated in healthy controls compared with untreated atopic patients (P < .001). Patients treated with SLIT also showed a significant increase of IL-10 production after Candida and PHA stimuli compared with patients with untreated rhinitis (P < .001 for both). Patients with untreated rhinitis did not produce IL-10.
This preliminary study confirms reduced T-cell proliferation and preliminarily provides the first evidence, to our knowledge, of peripheral IL-10 production in allergic patients successfully treated with HDM SLIT.
