Journal
INTERNATIONAL ARCHIVES OF ALLERGY AND IMMUNOLOGY
Volume 150, Issue 1, Pages 51-58Publisher
KARGER
DOI: 10.1159/000210380
Keywords
Antigen-specific IgE; Atopic eczema; Atopic dermatitis; Atopy patch test; ELISpot; Interleukin-4; Interleukin-5; Malassezia
Categories
Funding
- Swedish Research Council
- Centre for Allergy Research Karolinska Institutet
- Cancer and Allergy Foundation
- Swedish Asthma and Allergy Association's Research Foundation
- regional agreement on medical training and clinical research (ALF) between Stockholm County Council and the Karolinska Institutet
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Background: Atopic eczema is a chronic inflammatory skin disease in which several subgroups of cases can be identified. Atopy patch testing (APT) reveals allergen sensitization also in atopic eczema patients devoid of detectable allergen-specific IgE, suggesting the importance of factors other than IgE in the reaction. Here we investigate the relationship between APT reactions and allergen-specific peripheral IgE and T cell reactivity in atopic eczema patients. Methods: Adult patients with atopic eczema (n = 64) and healthy controls (n = 24) were analyzed for reactivity to Malassezia sympodialis extract by APT, measurement of specific plasma IgE and in vitro determination of the frequency of allergen-reactive peripheral blood mononuclear cells producing interleukin-4 and interleukin-5 using the ELISpot method. Results: When combining the results of the APT, IgE measurements and the ELISpot analyses, reactivity to M. sympodialis was found in a majority of the atopic eczema patients (69%), whereas the healthy controls were negative throughout. T cell reactivity to M. sympodialis, manifested by production of both interleukins 4 and 5, was highly predictive for a positive APT reaction and displayed a strongly positive correlation with the APT score. In contrast, the allergen-specific IgE levels did not predict the APT outcome, and no correlation could be found between the IgE levels and the APT score. Conclusion: Peripheral allergen-specific T helper 2 cell-mediated reactivity appears to be required for a positive APT reaction to M. sympodialis. The diagnostic potential of measuring peripheral allergen-specific T cell responses should be considered in atopic eczema. Copyright (C) 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available