Bocchino V, Bertorelli G, Zhuo X, Grima P, Di Comite V, Damia R, Chetta A, Del Donno M, Foresi A, Casalini A, Testi R, Olivieri D
Department of Respiratory Disease, University of Parma, Rasori Hospital, Italy.
Pulm Pharmacol Ther. 1997 Oct-Dec;10(5-6):253-9. doi: 10.1006/pupt.1998.0102.
The activation of T-lymphocytes through the recognition of specific allergens is a crucial event in the development of allergic inflammation. Dendritic cells (DC) are potent accessory cells that play an important role in initiating bronchial immune responses by activation of T-lymphocytes. We investigated the distribution of CD1a+ DC in the bronchial biopsies from asthmatic patients, and evaluated the effects of a short course of low dose inhaled fluticasone propionate treatment. Twenty-three mild to moderate stable asthmatic patients and eight normal subjects were included in the study. Bronchoscopy with bronchial biopsies were performed in each subject. Eighteen of the 23 asthmatics underwent a second bronchoscopy after 6 weeks of low dose inhaled fluticasone propionate treatment (250 mcg bd) in a placebo-controlled double-blind study. Biopsies were embedded into glycolmethacrylate resin and analysed by immunohistochemistry methods using specific monoclonal antibodies against CD1a, which is a widely recognized marker for DC. In asthmatics, CD1a+ DC number was significantly higher in bronchial epithelium (P < 0.001) and in lamina propria (P < 0.001) when compared with normal controls. In addition, we observed that a short course of low dose inhaled fluticasone propionate treatment decreased the number of CD1a+ DC in both the bronchial epithelium (P < 0.05) and lamina propria (P < 0.01). The increased number of CD1a+ DC support the hypothesis that DC play an important role in the modulation of the immune response in chronic asthma. Short-term low dose fluticasone propionate treatment induces down-regulation of the CD1a+ DC number.
通过识别特定过敏原激活T淋巴细胞是过敏性炎症发展中的关键事件。树突状细胞（DC）是强大的辅助细胞，在通过激活T淋巴细胞启动支气管免疫反应中起重要作用。我们研究了哮喘患者支气管活检组织中CD1a+ DC的分布，并评估了短期低剂量吸入丙酸氟替卡松治疗的效果。本研究纳入了23例轻度至中度稳定期哮喘患者和8名正常受试者。对每位受试者进行支气管镜检查并取支气管活检组织。在一项安慰剂对照的双盲研究中，23例哮喘患者中的18例在接受6周低剂量吸入丙酸氟替卡松治疗（250 mcg，每日两次）后接受了第二次支气管镜检查。将活检组织包埋于甲基丙烯酸乙二醇酯树脂中，并用针对CD1a的特异性单克隆抗体通过免疫组织化学方法进行分析，CD1a是一种广泛认可的DC标志物。与正常对照组相比，哮喘患者支气管上皮（P < 0.001）和固有层（P < 0.001）中的CD1a+ DC数量显著更高。此外，我们观察到短期低剂量吸入丙酸氟替卡松治疗可使支气管上皮（P < 0.05）和固有层（P < 0.01）中的CD1a+ DC数量减少。CD1a+ DC数量的增加支持了DC在慢性哮喘免疫反应调节中起重要作用的假说。短期低剂量丙酸氟替卡松治疗可诱导CD1a+ DC数量下调。
