Unique profile of IL-4 and IFN-gamma production by peripheral blood mononuclear cells in infants with atopic dermatitis.
Although the level of house dust mite (HDM)-specific lymphocyte proliferation is high in infants with atopic dermatitis (AD), the level of HDM-specific IgE antibody (HDM-IgE-RAST) is usually very low or negative. To elucidate the cause of the deficient HDM-specific IgE antibody formation in infants with AD, we examined the profile of IL-4 and IFN-gamma production by HDM-stimulated PBMCs. The amount of IL-4 production was higher in infants with AD and in children with AD (3 to 15 years) than in the nonatopic control subjects. Although the amount of IFN-gamma production in children with AD was lower than that found in nonatopic children, it was higher in infants with AD than in nonatopic infants. This result suggests that HDM-specific helper T lymphocytes in infants with AD have not yet differentiated into TH2 but rather stayed at the stage of TH0. The level of IgE-RAST for egg white (EW) is already elevated in infants with AD. The amount of IL-4 produced by EW-stimulated PBMCs was comparable to that produced by HDM-stimulated PBMCs in infants with AD. However, the amount of IFN-gamma produced by EW-stimulated PBMCs was distinctly lower than that produced by HDM-stimulated PBMCs in infants with AD. Although there was no correlation between the amount of IL-4 production by HDM-stimulated PBMCs and the level of HDM-IgE-RAST in infants with AD, the amount of IL-4 production by EW-stimulated PBMCs was closely correlated with the level of EW-IgE-RAST. These results suggest that it is not the lack of IL-4 but rather a relative increase in IFN-gamma production by HDM-specific helper T lymphocytes that causes the deficiency of HDM-specific IgE-antibody synthesis in infants with AD.
Department of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Shizuoka Children's Hospital, Shizuoka City, Japan.
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Kimura
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Tsuruta
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Yoshida
D000293:Adolescent; D000485:Allergens / Q000276:immunology; D000818:Animals; D002455:Cell Division; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003876:Dermatitis, Atopic / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D004529:Egg White; D006801:Humans; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000096:biosynthesis; D007223:Infant; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D015847:Interleukin-4 / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000276:immunology*; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D008925:Mites / Q000276:immunology; D011852:Radioallergosorbent Test
D000485:Allergens; D015847:Interleukin-4; D007073:Immunoglobulin E; D007371:Interferon-gamma