The study involved 10 patients with clinical diagnosis for allergic rhinitis, who also have or had had asthma. Peripheral blood leucocytes were obtained both during rhinitis symptoms and during a period when the patients were not experiencing rhinitis symptoms, then cultured with a type of prostaglandin, a substance that causes inflammation. In nine of the ten asthma patients, leucocytes produced a greater amount of the cytokine IL-5 when isolated during the no symptoms season, whereas five of the nine showed a greater production of IL-13, another cytokine, during the symptoms season. These results indicate that leucocytes from the same patient present different susceptibility to IL-5 and IL-13 production depending on the presence or absence of allergic rhinitis symptoms.

Dr. Leal-Berumen says the group now plans to study cell response to more specific allergens similar to what was done with the prostaglandin challenge. They believe these studies will contribute to a better understanding of asthma, allergy and other inflammatory disease and guide the pharmacogenetic development of new therapies.

Dr. Leal-Berumen's coauthors are Drs. Elsa Sanchez, Maria Cepeda, Aleli Valenzuela, and Maria de la Luz Arevalo. The study received funding from the University of Chihuahua and from its own researchers.

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Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology
2-Apr-2005