Rocklin R E, Sheffer A L, Greineder D K, Melmon K L
N Engl J Med. 1980 May 29;302(22):1213-9. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198005293022201.
We used a suppressor-cell assay to study a possible mechanism of allergy desensitization. Before specific immunotherapy, blood mononuclear cells from 20 patients with ragweed hayfever failed to exhibit suppressor activity in vitro after stimulation by ragweed antigen E. However, when the 10 patients with allergic rhinitis had been desensitized by injections of ragweed extract, their mononuclear cells specifically suppressed a ragweed proliferative response six and 12 months after desensitization was begun (31 per cent and 48 per cent suppression, respectively). Suppressor mononuclear cells were not detected in 10 control subjects of in 10 patients with ragweed hayfever who were not desensitized. When mononuclear cells taken from treated patients were passed over columns containing insolubilized histamine, antigen-specific suppressor cells that could be activated by ragweed antigen were depleted. These results indicate that antigen-specific suppressor cells, probably bearing histamine receptors, are generated during desensitization to allergy and may be partly responsible for the efficacy of this therapy.
我们采用抑制细胞试验来研究过敏脱敏的一种可能机制。在进行特异性免疫治疗前，20例豚草花粉热患者的血液单核细胞在豚草抗原E刺激后，体外未表现出抑制活性。然而，当10例变应性鼻炎患者通过注射豚草提取物进行脱敏后，脱敏开始6个月和12个月时，其单核细胞特异性抑制了豚草增殖反应（分别抑制31%和48%）。在10例未脱敏的豚草花粉热患者及10例对照受试者中未检测到抑制性单核细胞。当从治疗患者中获取的单核细胞通过含有不溶性组胺的柱时，可被豚草抗原激活的抗原特异性抑制细胞被耗尽。这些结果表明，在过敏脱敏过程中产生了可能带有组胺受体的抗原特异性抑制细胞，这可能是该疗法疗效的部分原因。
