Expression of interleukin-16 in allergic rhinitis.
BACKGROUND
Interleukin-16 (IL-16) has been characterized as a chemoattractant for a variety of CD4+ T cells. Several inflammatory diseases, including allergic disorders, have been reported to correlate with IL-16. We first examined the IL-16 expression of serum and mucosal tissue in patients with allergic rhinitis.


METHODS
Forty-eight patients with a clinical history of house dust mite (HDM) or pollen-sensitive allergic rhinitis were included in this study. Serum IL-16 was analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). IL-16 expression of nasal mucosa was detected by immunohistochemistry.


RESULTS
IL-16 levels were elevated in the serum of patients with allergic rhinitis compared with normal controls. In particular, serum IL-16 levels in HDM-sensitive patients were higher than those in pollen-sensitive patients. IL-16 was significantly correlated with eosinophils in the peripheral blood of allergic rhinitis patients. Histologically, IL-16 was expressed in infiltrated lymphocytes and nasal gland cells.


CONCLUSIONS
Our data indicate that one of the sources of elevated serum IL-16 in allergic patients may be gland cells and lymphocytes in allergic nasal mucosa. This IL-16 cytokine may be strongly associated with the developmental mechanism of allergic rhinitis.
Karaki
Masayuki
M
Department of Otolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, Kagawa University, 1750-1 Ikenobe, Miki-cho, Kita-gun, Kagawa 761-0793, Japan. ironman@kms.ac.jp
Dobashi
Hiroaki
H
Kobayashi
Ryuichi
R
Tokuda
Michiaki
M
Ishida
Toshihiko
T
Mori
Nozomu
N
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D004804:Eosinophils / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000276:immunology*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D019410:Interleukin-16 / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009297:Nasal Mucosa / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*; D011058:Pollen / Q000276:immunology; D039981:Pyroglyphidae / Q000276:immunology; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012220:Rhinitis / Q000276:immunology*
D019410:Interleukin-16