title: Peripheral TH-17 cells in children with allergic rhinitis: preliminary report.
abstract: Th17 is a subset of T helper lymphocytes and exerts pro-inflammatory activities. Recently, it has been reported that serum IL-17 levels are high in the most severe patients with birch allergy studied both outside and during the pollen season. This study aims to compare the frequency of peripheral IL-17-producing T cells in children with allergic rhinitis and in healthy controls. Ten children with allergic rhinitis and 5 healthy non-allergic subjects were evaluated. Th17 were evaluated by intracellular staining in ex-vivo T cell compartment. Ex- vivo PBMNC evaluation showed that allergic patients had higher frequencies of IL-17 producing T cells, both concerning CD4+ and CD8+ cells. In particular, there is a subset co-expressing IL-17 and IFN-gamma both for CD4+ and CD8+ cells. In conclusion, this preliminary study suggests a possible role of Th-17 cells in the response to allergens in children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria San Martino and University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy. gio.cip@libero.it
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ciprandi
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Castellazzi
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fenoglio
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Battaglia
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Marseglia
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000097:blood; D020381:Interleukin-17 / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D012221:Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial / Q000276:immunology*; D006255:Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal / Q000276:immunology*; D006377:T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D020381:Interleukin-17; D007371:Interferon-gamma