title: [Autoantibodies and respiratory allergy: immunologic case study].
abstract: Sera obtained from 212 patients with rhinopathy and/or asthma of allergic origin (pollens and/or mites) and from 87 apparently healthy controls were studied for the presence of organ and non organ specific autoantibodies. These were determined by indirect immunofluorescence techniques (5) using test tissue from monkeys (thyroid) and rats (stomach, liver and kidney). Two groups were matched for age and sex and the tests were performed using the double-blind method. The incidence observed was not dissimilar to that detected in healthy subjects, with the exclusion of smooth-muscle antibodies. These were present to a lesser extent in patients with respiratory allergies (0.94%) in contrast with the incidence of 5.73% in normal subjects (P less than 0.01). On the basis of our findings, it seems possible to hypothesize that allergic patients have a lesser tendency to autoimmune diseases because the immune system is committed to the IgE-mediated immunoreactions. In conclusion, autoantibodies do not seem to play a role in the pathogenesis of respiratory allergies to inhaled allergens.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001249:Asthma / Q000276:immunology; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009130:Muscle, Smooth / Q000276:immunology; D009928:Organ Specificity; D012130:Respiratory Hypersensitivity / Q000276:immunology*; D006255:Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies
vernacular_title: Autoanticorpi e allergie respiratorie: studio casistico immunologico.