Pediatr Allergy Respir Dis.  2001 Jun;11(2):109-121.

A Study on Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus Induced Cytokines Gene Expression in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells

• Ko KO
• Min DL
• Park JK
• Chung YH

Abstract

PURPOSE
Cytokines are known to play a major role in mediating many of the immunological and pathological findings of allergic disease. Many studies on allergen-specific T cell clones isolated from atopic individuals have shown that these cells produce cytokines of the Th2 phenotype. The purpose of the present study was to investigate cytokine patterns of T lymphocyte induced by Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus in atopic asthma.
METHODS
Freshly isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells of Dp(+) asthmatic children, Dp(-) asthmatic children, nonasthmatic children, and normal adults were stimulated with Dp antigen and examined for the induction of IFN-gamma, IL-2, IL-4, and IL-5 mRNA using RT-PCR.
RESULTS
The lymphoproliferative response to crude Dp antigen was maximized at Dp concentration of 2.5 microgram/mL. The lymphoproliferative response was low in children including Dp(+) asthmatics, Dp(-) asthmatics and nonasthmatics, but that of normal adults was high. The expression of IFN-gamma was not so different in each group, but the expression of IL-4 was least in adults, and that of IL-5 was most prominent in Dp(+) asthmatic children. In adult healthy group, IFN-gamma expression without IL-4 and IFN-gamma without IL-5 was significantly higher than those in children. IL-5 expression with or without IFN-gamma was the highest in Dp(+) asthmatic children. IL-4 and IL-5 or IL-5 without IL-4 expression were observed more frequently in Dp(+) asthmatic children than in any other groups. Th2 response was most prominent in Dp(+) asthmatics, and Th1 response was most prominent in normal adult group.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, we observed significantly prominent Th2 response in Dp(+) asthmatic children, especially that of IL-5.

Keyword

Cytokines; Th2 response; IL-4; IL-5; Asthmati

MeSH Terms

Adult
Asthma
Child
Clone Cells
Cytokines*
Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus*
Gene Expression*
Humans
Interleukin-2
Interleukin-4
Interleukin-5
Lymphocytes
Negotiating
Phenotype
Pyroglyphidae*
RNA, Messenger
Cytokines
Interleukin-2
Interleukin-4
Interleukin-5
RNA, Messenger