Y. Ohashi et al., IMMUNOTHERAPY DECREASES SEASONAL RISE IN SERUM-SOLUBLE CD23 IN SEASONAL ALLERGIC RHINITIS, The Laryngoscope, 108(5), 1998, pp. 706-711
Citations number
22
Categorie Soggetti
Otorhinolaryngology,"Medicine, Research & Experimental
There is increasing in vitro evidence that soluble CD23 (sCD23) is cap
able of potentiating IgE synthesis, but the in vivo physiologic signif
icance remains to be established.This study investigated the seasonal
changes in sCD23 in patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis. It inclu
ded 112 adult patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis due to Japanese
cedar pollens and 20 nonatopic healthy volunteers. The 64 patients of
the pharmacotherapy group were treated with nonsedating antihistamine
tablets alone throughout the pollen season and the remaining 48 patie
nts of the immunotherapy group continued to be treated with immunother
apy. Serum concentrations of sCD23 were measured in each patient, befo
re and during the pollen season of 1996, by a sandwich enzyme-linked i
mmunosorbent assay. The serum levels of sCD23 in the pharmacotherapy g
roup before the pollen season were significantly higher than those in
the nonatopic group (P = .0130) and those in the immunotherapy group (
P = .0316). Seasonal increase in sCD23 was significant in the pharmaco
therapy group, irrespective of the clinical response (P < .0001). By c
ontrast, sCD23 was not significantly increased in the good responders
to immunotherapy (P = .1826), but was significantly increased in the p
oor responders to immunotherapy (P = .0052). A significant correlation
between seasonal increase in rate in specific IgE and seasonal increa
se in rate in sCD23 was confirmed in both the pharmacotherapy group (r
(s) = 0.321, P = .0107) and the immunotherapy group (r(s) = 0.474, P =
.0012). In conclusion, seasonal rise in sCD23 is associated with and
is probably involved in seasonal rise in specific IgE in patients with
seasonal allergic rhinitis, and successful immunotherapy is capable o
f blunting seasonal increase in sCD23, thus resulting in attenuation o
f seasonal increase in specific IgE and clinical benefits during the p
ollen season.