Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Heinrich-Heine-University Duesseldorf, Duesseldorf, Germany.
Clin Exp Allergy. 2013 Oct;43(10):1134-43. doi: 10.1111/cea.12148.
Serum levels of IL-16, IL-33 and the decoy receptor of IL-33, soluble ST2, are elevated in allergic rhinitis. Recent studies show that IL-16, soluble ST2 or anti-IL-33 reduce type 2 cytokines (such as IL-5) and eosinophilia in murine models of allergic asthma or allergic rhinitis respectively.
In this study, we studied the release of IL-5, IL-16, IL-33 and soluble ST2 in allergic rhinitis patients after nasal allergen challenge and natural pollen exposure.
The nasal lavages of 15 allergic and 14 non-allergic volunteers were collected during the pollen allergy season. In addition, six allergic volunteers underwent unilateral nasal allergen and control challenge out of season and nasal secretions and sera were collected. IL-5, IL-16, IL-33 and soluble ST2 in nasal secretions and sera were measured by electrochemiluminescent assay or ELISA, respectively.
Nasal IL-5, IL-16 and soluble ST2 levels were significantly increased in seasonally pollen exposed allergic volunteers compared to control subjects (P < 0.001, P = 0.018 and P = 0.002 respectively), whereas IL-33 remained undetectable. Nasal IL-16 showed a weak inverse correlation trend with nasal symptoms (r = -0.48, P = 0.07). Nasal soluble ST2 concentrations were inversely correlated with nasal symptoms (r = -0.61, P = 0.02) and positively correlated with IL-16 (r = 0.56, P = 0.03). Significant increases of nasal IL-5, IL-16 and ST2 but not IL-33 were observed after nasal allergen challenge. At 24 h after allergen challenge, local ST2 and IL-5 concentrations showed an inverse correlation trend (r = -0.83, P = 0.04). Serum levels of IL-5, IL-16 and soluble ST2 rose in at least five of six volunteers tested at 5 or 24 h post-challenge.
The observed upregulation of soluble ST2 and IL-16 after nasal allergen challenge and during peak pollination season suggests potential regulatory roles of these cytokines in the inflammatory reaction in allergic rhinitis.
白细胞介素 16（IL-16）、白细胞介素 33（IL-33）及其诱饵受体可溶性 ST2 在变应性鼻炎患者的血清中水平升高。最近的研究表明，IL-16、可溶性 ST2 或抗 IL-33 分别可降低变应性哮喘或变应性鼻炎的小鼠模型中的 2 型细胞因子（如 IL-5）和嗜酸性粒细胞。
本研究探讨了变应性鼻炎患者在鼻过敏原激发和自然花粉暴露后 IL-5、IL-16、IL-33 和可溶性 ST2 的释放情况。
在花粉过敏季节，收集 15 例变应性鼻炎志愿者和 14 例非变应性志愿者的鼻灌洗液。此外，6 例变应性志愿者在非季节进行单侧鼻过敏原和对照激发，并采集鼻分泌物和血清。采用电化学发光法或 ELISA 分别检测鼻分泌物和血清中的 IL-5、IL-16、IL-33 和可溶性 ST2。
与对照组相比，季节性花粉暴露的变应性鼻炎志愿者的鼻内 IL-5、IL-16 和可溶性 ST2 水平显著升高（P<0.001、P=0.018 和 P=0.002），而 IL-33 仍无法检测到。鼻内 IL-16 与鼻症状呈弱负相关趋势（r=-0.48，P=0.07）。鼻可溶性 ST2 浓度与鼻症状呈负相关（r=-0.61，P=0.02），与 IL-16 呈正相关（r=0.56，P=0.03）。鼻过敏原激发后，鼻内 IL-5、IL-16 和 ST2 显著升高，但 IL-33 无明显升高。在过敏原激发后 24 h，局部 ST2 和 IL-5 浓度呈负相关趋势（r=-0.83，P=0.04）。在至少 5 名志愿者中，在激发后 5 或 24 h 时血清中 IL-5、IL-16 和可溶性 ST2 水平升高。
鼻过敏原激发后和花粉高峰季节，可溶性 ST2 和 IL-16 的上调表明这些细胞因子在变应性鼻炎炎症反应中可能具有调节作用。
