Regulation of disease susceptibility: decreased prevalence of IgE-mediated allergic disease in patients with multiple sclerosis.
The development of restricted cytokine profiles by subsets of CD4+ T cells is a pivotal point in the regulation of immune responses. T cells producing Th1 cytokines (IL-2 and interferon-gamma) induce cell-mediated immunity, whereas T cells producing Th2 cytokines (IL-4, IL-5, and IL-10) play a prominent role in the induction of humoral immunity. We examined a group of patients with multiple sclerosis, a disease caused by excess production of Th1 cytokines in myelin-reactive T cells, and control patients with noninflammatory neuroconvulsive disorders, for the presence of allergic disease, which is caused by excess production of Th2 cytokines in allergen-specific T cells. The patients with multiple sclerosis had significantly fewer allergic symptoms, a lower number of positive allergen-specific IgE test results, and lower composite allergy indexes than control subjects. These results demonstrate that the prevalence of IgE-mediated allergic disease is decreased in a group of patients with multiple sclerosis and support the hypothesis that genetic factors that promote susceptibility to Th1-mediated inflammatory disease in human beings protect against the development of Th2-mediated disease.
Oro
A S
AS
Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University, CA 94305-5119, USA.
Guarino
T J
TJ
Driver
R
R
Steinman
L
L
Umetsu
D T
DT
D000328:Adult; D000485:Allergens / Q000276:immunology; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000150:complications*; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000276:immunology*; D012882:Skin Tests; D018417:Th1 Cells / Q000276:immunology; D018418:Th2 Cells / Q000276:immunology
D000485:Allergens; D007073:Immunoglobulin E