Department of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Korea.
Department of Biomaterials Science (BK21 FOUR Program), College of Natural Resources and Life Science, Pusan National University, Miryang, Korea.
Korean J Intern Med. 2024 Jul;39(4):659-667. doi: 10.3904/kjim.2024.003. Epub 2024 Jul 1.
BACKGROUND/AIMS: Sensitization to staphylococcal superantigens (SAgs) could contribute to asthma severity. However, its relevance with eosinophilic phenotype has not yet been clarified. This study aimed to investigate associations between serum specific IgE levels to SAg and eosinophilic airway inflammation in adult asthmatics.
The serum specific IgE levels to 3 SAgs, including staphylococcal enterotoxin A (SEA) and B (SEB), and toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 (TSST-1) were measured by ImmunoCAP in 230 adult asthmatic patients and 50 healthy controls (HCs). Clinical characteristics and laboratory parameters, including serum total/free IgE, and 2 eosinophil-activation markers, eosinophil cationic protein (ECP), and eosinophil-derived neurotoxin (EDN), were analyzed according to blood eosinophil counts (BEC; 150 cells/μL) and serum specific IgE levels to 3 SAgs (0.35 kU/L).
Asthmatic patients showed higher serum specific IgE levels to 3 SAgs than HCs (p < 0.05 for all). The serum total/clinfree IgE levels were significantly higher in asthmatics with positive IgE responses to 3 SAgs than those without (p < 0.05 for all). There were no significant differences in clinical parameters including age, asthma severity, comorbidities, or smoking according to IgE responses to 3 SAgs. Patients with positive IgE responses to SEB (not to SEA/TSST-1) had higher serum specific IgE levels to house dust mites and ECP/EDN as well as higher BEC with positive correlations between serum SEB-specific IgE levels and BEC/ECP/EDN (p < 0.05 for all).
These findings suggest that serum SEB-specific IgE levels could contribute to eosinophil activation as well as IgE production in adult asthma.
背景/目的：葡萄球菌超抗原（SAg）致敏可能导致哮喘严重程度增加。然而，其与嗜酸性表型的相关性尚未阐明。本研究旨在调查成人哮喘患者血清中针对 SAg 的特异性 IgE 水平与嗜酸性气道炎症之间的关系。
采用 ImmunoCAP 法检测 230 例成人哮喘患者和 50 例健康对照者（HCs）血清中针对 3 种 SAg（包括葡萄球菌肠毒素 A [SEA]和 B [SEB]以及中毒性休克综合征毒素-1 [TSST-1]）的特异性 IgE 水平。根据血嗜酸性粒细胞计数（BEC；150 个/μL）和针对 3 种 SAg 的血清特异性 IgE 水平（0.35 kU/L），分析临床特征和实验室参数，包括血清总/游离 IgE 以及 2 种嗜酸性粒细胞活化标志物，即嗜酸性粒细胞阳离子蛋白（ECP）和嗜酸性粒细胞衍生神经毒素（EDN）。
哮喘患者的血清针对 3 种 SAg 的特异性 IgE 水平高于 HCs（p<0.05）。对 3 种 SAg 均产生 IgE 应答的哮喘患者的血清总/游离 IgE 水平显著高于无应答者（p<0.05）。根据对 3 种 SAg 的 IgE 应答情况，哮喘患者在年龄、哮喘严重程度、合并症或吸烟等临床参数方面无显著差异。对 SEB（而非 SEA/TSST-1）产生 IgE 应答的患者具有更高的血清针对屋尘螨的特异性 IgE 水平和 ECP/EDN，以及更高的 BEC，并且 SEB 特异性 IgE 水平与 BEC/ECP/EDN 之间存在正相关（p<0.05）。
这些发现表明，血清 SEB 特异性 IgE 水平可能有助于成人哮喘中的嗜酸性粒细胞活化和 IgE 产生。
