title: Elevation of soluble interleukin-2 receptor levels in nasal allergy.
abstract: To investigate soluble IL-2 receptor (sIL-2R) levels in nasal allergy, the sera and nasal secretions from patients with nasal allergy and from healthy subjects were subjected to a double-epitope enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Significant elevation of sIL-2R concentrations in the sera and nasal secretions was observed in the allergy patients (n = 26) compared with those of healthy subjects (n = 9). IL-2R-positive (CD25(+)) cells were observed in the crust formed in an allergic nasal mucosa. The concentration of sIL-2R in the sera correlated neither with the eosinophil count of the peripheral blood count nor with clinical severity. The concentration of sIL-2R in the nasal secretions was significantly higher compared with that in the sera from allergic patients (p < 0.01), whereas no significant difference was observed between sIL-2R levels in the sera and nasal sections from normal subjects. These findings indicate that sIL-2R plays an essential role in allergic processes by regulating IL-2R-positive cells recruited into the nasal mucosa.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology Yamanashi Medical University 1110 Shimokato Tamaho-cho, Nakakoma-gun, Yamanashi 409-38 Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hisamatsu
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ganbo
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakazawa
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Horiguchi
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shimomura
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Murakami