title: Different serum cytokine levels in chronic vs. acute Anisakis simplex sensitization-associated urticaria.
abstract: The knowledge on immune mechanisms of chronic urticaria (CU) at the cytokine level is widely scarce. We compared pro- and anti-inflammatory as well as Th1- and Th2-associated serum cytokine levels in two phenotypes of CU: associated with (CU+) and without (CU⁻) sensitization against Anisakis simplex, a ubiquitous fish parasite, that has been associated with acute urticaria in gastro-allergic anisakiasis (GAA) and with CU+. Thirteen CU+ and 19 CU⁻ patients were compared with 13 GAA patients and 15 control subjects for cytokines, measured by cytometric bead array. Urticaria activity score was positively correlated with IL-6 in CU⁻. Serum levels of IL-10 were lower in CU+ and CU⁻ with respect to the control group. Median IFN-γ was lower in all urticaria groups. Patients with previous parasitism by A. simplex displayed higher TGF-β levels than subjects without previous parasitism. The main finding was lower levels of IL-17 in CU+ with respect to GAA or controls, with a further tendency to even lower levels in CU⁻. Different urticaria phenotypes are associated with distinct serum cytokine levels.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Alergia, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria-Hospital Universitario de la Princesa, Diego de León, Madrid, Spain. alvarodaschner@gmail.com
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Daschner
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rodero
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: DE Frutos
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Valls
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Vega
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Blanco
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cuéllar
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D017129:Anisakiasis / Q000150:complications* / Q000276:immunology*; D017163:Anisakis / Q000276:immunology*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D044967:Serum / Q000737:chemistry; D014581:Urticaria / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines