Pawankar R U, Okuda M, Okubo K, Ra C
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Nippon Medical School, Japan.
Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 1995 Dec;152(6 Pt 1):2049-58. doi: 10.1164/ajrccm.152.6.8520775.
T cells have been considered to play a primary role in IgE-mediated atopic diseases, yet little is known about the T-cell subsets in the nasal mucosa of patients with perennial allergic rhinitis. To elucidate the characteristics of T cells at the site of allergic inflammation, we analyzed the proportions, phenotypes, stages of differentiation, and distribution of T-cell subsets in the nasal mucosa of 15 patients with house-dust-mite perennial allergic rhinitis (PAR) and 14 patients with chronic infective rhinitis (CIR), using flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry. We also examined the T-cell subsets in the peripheral blood (PBL) in conjunction with those of the nasal mucosa in 10 patients with PAR and in nine patients with CIR. Our results revealed no obvious difference in the percentage of nasal CD3+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, and alpha beta T cells in the PAR and CIR patients. In contrast, CD4+ T cells (p < 0.05), CD3+4-8- double-negative T cells, (p < 0.01), and gamma delta T cells (p < 0.01) were significantly increased in the nasal mucosa of PAR patients. A majority of the CD4+ T cells in the nasal mucosa of PAR patients coexpressed the CD45RO surface molecule, and a predominant proportion of CD4+ T cells in the nasal coexpressed the CD45RO surface molecule, and a predominant proportion of CD4+ T cells in the nasal epithelium were CD45RO+. The ratio of CD4+ CD45RO+:CD4+ CD45RA+ T cells in the allergic patients' nasal mucosa was significantly greater than that in autologous peripheral blood (p < 0.01). The proportion and stages of activation and differentiation of T-cell subsets in the allergic patients' nasal mucosa were independent of those in the peripheral blood. An increase in the proportion of natural killer (NK) cells was observed in the nasal mucosa of CIR patients. Taken together, our results suggest that nasal T cells exhibit distinct patterns of distribution, differentiation, and activation in different inflammatory conditions of the nose. PAR is characterized by a selective increase in CD4+ memory T cells, CD3+4-8- double-negative T cells, B cells, and gamma delta T cells in the nasal mucosa. The increase in CD4+ memory T cells in the allergic nasal epithelium may have critical implications in the pathogenesis of PAR.
T细胞被认为在IgE介导的特应性疾病中起主要作用，但对于常年性变应性鼻炎患者鼻黏膜中的T细胞亚群却知之甚少。为了阐明变应性炎症部位T细胞的特征，我们使用流式细胞术和免疫组织化学分析了15例屋尘螨常年性变应性鼻炎（PAR）患者和14例慢性感染性鼻炎（CIR）患者鼻黏膜中T细胞亚群的比例、表型、分化阶段及分布情况。我们还检测了10例PAR患者和9例CIR患者外周血（PBL）中的T细胞亚群，并与鼻黏膜中的T细胞亚群进行了对比。我们的结果显示，PAR患者和CIR患者鼻黏膜中CD3⁺ T细胞、CD8⁺ T细胞及αβ T细胞的百分比无明显差异。相比之下，PAR患者鼻黏膜中CD4⁺ T细胞（p < 0.05）、CD3⁺4⁻8⁻双阴性T细胞（p < 0.01）及γδ T细胞（p < 0.01）显著增加。PAR患者鼻黏膜中的大多数CD4⁺ T细胞共表达CD45RO表面分子，鼻黏膜中CD4⁺ T细胞的主要比例共表达CD45RO表面分子，且鼻上皮中大多数CD4⁺ T细胞为CD45RO⁺。变应性患者鼻黏膜中CD4⁺ CD45RO⁺:CD4⁺ CD45RA⁺ T细胞的比例显著高于自体外周血中的比例（p < 0.01）。变应性患者鼻黏膜中T细胞亚群的激活和分化比例及阶段与外周血中的情况无关。在CIR患者的鼻黏膜中观察到自然杀伤（NK）细胞比例增加。综上所述，我们的结果表明，在鼻腔的不同炎症状态下，鼻T细胞呈现出不同的分布、分化和激活模式。PAR的特征是鼻黏膜中CD4⁺记忆T细胞、CD3⁺4⁻8⁻双阴性T细胞、B细胞及γδ T细胞选择性增加。变应性鼻上皮中CD4⁺记忆T细胞的增加可能在PAR的发病机制中具有关键意义。
