Allergy Asthma Clin Immunol. 2013 Oct 11;9(1):40. doi: 10.1186/1710-1492-9-40.
Basophils are important effectors cells in allergic rhinitis (AR) since they are involved in immunoglobulin (Ig) E - mediated inflammation and in the release of pro-inflammatory mediators. Specific subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) provides clear immunologic modulation in some immune cells, however its systemic effects on basophils are not well known.
Peripheral blood (PB) samples from 43 patients with allergic rhinitis mono-sensitized to Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Dpt) [33 of them under SCIT with allergoid Dpt extract, in maintenance dose (SCIT), with evaluation just before SCIT injection (SCIT-T0) and 4 hours later (SCIT-T4) and the other 10 Dpt allergic patients never having, in the past, undergone specific immunotherapy treatment (NSIT)], and 15 healthy age- and gender-matched controls (HG), were analyzed. For each sample, the total (t-IgE) and specific IgE (s-IgE) was performed, as well as, the relative frequency and absolute number of PB basophils and receptor-bound IgE and IgG expression were evaluated by flow cytometry and the Histamine N-methyltransferase (HNMT) and tryptase α/β1 (TPSAB1) gene expression was assessed by real-time PCR.
Higher levels of receptor-bound IgE were observed in SCIT patients, which are correlated with the levels of serum t-IgE and s-IgE, whereas no significant differences were observed for receptor-bound IgG. Regarding HNMT mRNA expression, significantly lower expression levels were detected in AR patients compared to HG, independently of type of therapy. Moreover a negative correlation was found between HNMT gene expression and time under SCIT. Conversely, tryptase gene expression was significantly up-regulated in NSIT when compared to HG; however in SCIT patients, tryptase gene expression was significantly decreased than in NSIT patients. No differences were found for any parameter between SCIT-T0 and SCIT-T4 with exception of a transient increased expression of tryptase in SCIT-T4.
PB basophils from patients with AR show altered functional features, which seems to be influenced by SCIT, suggesting that these cells could be useful to clarify the SCIT triggered mechanisms at a systemic level.
嗜碱性粒细胞是变应性鼻炎（AR）的重要效应细胞，因为它们参与 IgE 介导的炎症和促炎介质的释放。特定的皮下免疫疗法（SCIT）为一些免疫细胞提供了明确的免疫调节，但它对嗜碱性粒细胞的全身影响尚不清楚。
从 43 名对屋尘螨（Dpt）单过敏的 AR 患者（其中 33 名接受 Dpt 变应原提取的 SCIT，维持剂量（SCIT），在 SCIT 注射前（SCIT-T0）和 4 小时后（SCIT-T4）进行评估，另 10 名 Dpt 过敏患者过去从未接受过特异性免疫治疗（NSIT））和 15 名年龄和性别匹配的健康对照组（HG）的外周血（PB）样本进行分析。对每个样本进行总 IgE（t-IgE）和特异性 IgE（s-IgE）检测，以及通过流式细胞术评估 PB 嗜碱性粒细胞的相对频率和绝对数量，以及受体结合 IgE 和 IgG 的表达，并通过实时 PCR 评估组氨酸 N-甲基转移酶（HNMT）和类胰蛋白酶 α/β1（TPSAB1）基因的表达。
在 SCIT 患者中观察到更高水平的受体结合 IgE，其与血清 t-IgE 和 s-IgE 水平相关，而受体结合 IgG 无显著差异。关于 HNMT mRNA 表达，与 HG 相比，AR 患者的表达水平显著降低，与治疗类型无关。此外，发现 HNMT 基因表达与 SCIT 持续时间呈负相关。相反，与 HG 相比，NSIT 时 TPSAB1 基因表达显著上调；然而，在 SCIT 患者中，TPSAB1 基因表达显著低于 NSIT 患者。除了在 SCIT-T4 中短暂表达增加外，在 SCIT-T0 和 SCIT-T4 之间没有发现任何参数的差异。
AR 患者的 PB 嗜碱性粒细胞表现出改变的功能特征，这似乎受到 SCIT 的影响，这表明这些细胞可用于在全身水平上阐明 SCIT 触发的机制。
