Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Kuwait University, Kuwait.
Ann Acad Med Singap. 2010 Nov;39(11):854-60.
During the Arabian Gulf Wars of 1991 and 2003, the resident population of Kuwait sustained heavy exposure to environmental toxicants introduced by military activities. No comprehensive studies have been conducted to assess how exposure to the wartime and postwar environment may have altered the fundamental patterns of immune reactivity among Kuwaitis in ways that affect pathogenesis of disease. This present study addresses this issue by characterising immunological features of asthma and allergies in a Kuwaiti population that is unique and possibly correlates with toxicant exposures.
Twenty-fi ve long-term residents of Kuwait afflicted with bronchial asthma concurrent with rhinitis; and 2 healthy control groups: 18 long-term residents and 10 newcomers to Kuwait were evaluated by 2- and 3-colour fl ow cytometry for peripheral blood T cell subpopulation frequencies.
Relative to healthy, long-term residents, significantly elevated frequencies of all activated cell phenotypes were observed in the blood of the asthmatic group (P <0.05 to P <0.001), except for CD8+HLA-DR+ cells and a presumed T-regulatory (Treg) subpopulation: CD4+CD25(high). The asthmatic group was also observed to have larger populations of CD3+ (pan-T cells), CD4+ (T helper cells) and CD8+ (cytotoxic T cells), CD3+CD56 (NKT-like cells) and CD56+CD16+ (NK cells) compared to healthy long-term residents. Compared to healthy recent immigrants, the blood of long-term residents contained elevated levels of CD3+CD56+ (NK-like), CD4+CD45RA+/ CD45RO+ (Naive-to-Memory Transitional), but lower CD4+CD25+(high) (Treg) (P <0.05).
Elevated representation of natural killer (NKT)-like and memory phenotypes may predispose long-term residents towards enhanced susceptibility for airway disease; while at the same time, reducing representation of Treg cells which are protective against airway disease, and this may increase vulnerability to these syndromes among the residents of Kuwait. These results may provide insight into the features of immunopathogenesis of asthma and allergies in Kuwait that arise as a result of the special environment of the country.
在 1991 年和 2003 年的海湾战争期间，科威特的常住居民大量接触到军事活动带来的环境毒物。目前还没有进行全面的研究来评估战时和战后环境的暴露如何以影响疾病发病机制的方式改变科威特人基本的免疫反应模式。本研究通过描述科威特人口中哮喘和过敏的免疫学特征来解决这个问题，这些特征是独特的，可能与毒物暴露有关。
25 名长期居住在科威特的患有支气管哮喘并发鼻炎的居民；以及 2 个健康对照组：18 名长期居住者和 10 名新到科威特的居民，通过 2 色和 3 色流式细胞术检测外周血 T 细胞亚群频率。
与健康的长期居民相比，哮喘组的所有激活细胞表型的频率显著升高（P<0.05 至 P<0.001），除了 CD8+HLA-DR+细胞和假定的 T 调节（Treg）亚群：CD4+CD25(high)。与健康的长期移民相比，哮喘组的 CD3+（pan-T 细胞）、CD4+（辅助性 T 细胞）和 CD8+（细胞毒性 T 细胞）、CD3+CD56（NKT 样细胞）和 CD56+CD16+（NK 细胞）的数量也更大。与健康的新移民相比，长期居民的血液中含有更高水平的 CD3+CD56+（NK 样）、CD4+CD45RA+/CD45RO+（幼稚到记忆过渡），但 CD4+CD25+(high)（Treg）的水平较低（P<0.05）。
自然杀伤（NKT）样和记忆表型的升高可能使长期居民易患气道疾病；同时，降低 Treg 细胞的表达，Treg 细胞可预防气道疾病，这可能会增加科威特居民患这些综合征的易感性。这些结果可能为科威特哮喘和过敏的免疫发病机制特征提供一些见解，这些特征是由于该国特殊的环境而产生的。
