Wang Chunrui, Wang Kai, Liu Shaoting, Qin Xiaowei, Chen Kewa, Zhang Tianhong
Department of Otolaryngology, First Affiliated Hospital to Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.
Department of Otolaryngology, Ningbo Medical Treatment Center Lihuili Hospital, Ningbo, China.
Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2016 Feb;81:15-20. doi: 10.1016/j.ijporl.2015.12.001. Epub 2015 Dec 13.
Sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) is proven to be very effective in the treatment of allergic rhinitis (AR), but its regulatory mechanism and biomarkers for predicting efficacy are still unknown. Osteopontin (OPN), as a recently described Th2 inflammation related protein, plays key role in the pathogenesis of AR. The aim of this study was to identify the expression and role of OPN during SLIT in children.
Fifty house dust mite (HDM)-sensitized children with AR were enrolled in this study. AR children received HDM allergen extract or placebo for SLIT. Serum of different time points during treatment was collected and used for enzyme-linked immuno sorbent assay (ELISA) of OPN and related cytokines, respectively. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from children after SLIT or placebo treatment were collected and stimulated with HDM with or without OPN/anti-OPN after one year's treatment.
Our results showed that expression of OPN protein was decreased after one year's therapy. The decreased OPN expression was positively related to decreased Th2 cytokines and negatively related to enhanced IL-10 and TGF-β expression. In vitro experiments confirmed that children received SLIT treatment showed decreased production of Th2 cytokines by PBMCs after HDM stimulation.
During SLIT, decreased OPN expression was related to low Th2 cytokine expression and enhanced IL-10 and TGF-β expression. High serum OPN expression predicts poor treatment efficacy. OPN may be used as a biomarker for SLIT treatment.
舌下免疫疗法（SLIT）已被证明在治疗变应性鼻炎（AR）方面非常有效，但其调节机制和预测疗效的生物标志物仍不清楚。骨桥蛋白（OPN）作为最近描述的一种与Th2炎症相关的蛋白，在AR的发病机制中起关键作用。本研究的目的是确定儿童SLIT期间OPN的表达及作用。
本研究纳入了50名对屋尘螨（HDM）致敏的AR儿童。AR儿童接受HDM变应原提取物或安慰剂进行SLIT治疗。收集治疗期间不同时间点的血清，分别用于OPN及相关细胞因子的酶联免疫吸附测定（ELISA）。收集SLIT或安慰剂治疗后儿童的外周血单个核细胞，在治疗一年后用HDM刺激，同时加入或不加入OPN/抗OPN。
我们的结果显示，经过一年治疗后，OPN蛋白表达降低。OPN表达的降低与Th2细胞因子的降低呈正相关，与IL-10和TGF-β表达的增强呈负相关。体外实验证实，接受SLIT治疗的儿童在HDM刺激后，外周血单个核细胞产生的Th2细胞因子减少。
在SLIT期间，OPN表达降低与Th2细胞因子低表达以及IL-10和TGF-β表达增强有关。血清OPN高表达预示治疗效果不佳。OPN可作为SLIT治疗的生物标志物。
