MUCOSAL IMMUNITY IN ALLERGIC RHINITIS

Secretory IgA (SIgA) is the main agent protecting the mucosal district s against both infectious microorganisms and inert foreign macromolecu les. A lack of secretory immunity has previously been described in pat ients with allergic rhinitis, but it is a controversial finding. The d iscrepant results of SIgA levels found in allergy may partially be due to methodological problems. Sixty patients with previously demonstrat ed allergic rhinitis, treated or not with specific desensibilization t herapy and free from clinical manifestation of rhinitis were studied. Normal volunteers and patients with selective 11S IgA deficit, without allergic pathology, were investigated as controls. The titration of S IgA in nasal secretions, performed by an original immunoisoelectro-foc using method, showed significantly decreased values in allergic patien ts. An evaluation of the IgE level in nasal secretion was performed by ELISA. Low rates of IgE were also found in the intercritic period.