title: Cytokine detection for the diagnosis of chromium allergy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Patch testing remains the gold standard method for the identification of the etiologic agent of allergic contact dermatitis. However, it is a subjective, time-consuming exam whose technique demands special care and which presents some contraindications, which hamper its use. In a recent study, we showed that the proliferation assay can suitably replace patch testing for the diagnosis of chromium allergy, which had been previously demonstrated only for nickel allergy. In this study, we try to refine the method by reducing the incubation period of cultures for lymphocyte proliferation assays in response to chromium.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Develop an alternative or complementary diagnostic test for chromium allergic contact dermatitis.
  
  
  METHODS
  We compared the production of 9 cytokines (IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-10, IL-12, IL-13, IL-17 and RANTES) between 18 chromium-allergic patients and 19 controls.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Chromium increased the production of IFN-y, IL-5, IL-2 and IL-13 in allergic patients, but only IL-2 and especially IL-13 helped discriminate allergic patients from controls. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy found with IL-13 were about 80%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  IL-13 and IL-2 detection may be used to diagnose chromium allergy in 2-day cultures. However, in general, the 6-day cultures seem to be superior for this purpose.
authors.affiliation: Hospital Universitário Evangélico de Curitiba, Faculdade Evangélica do Paraná, CuritibaPR, Brazil.
authors.forename: Luis Eduardo Agner Machado
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Martins
authors.forename: Vitor Manoel Silva dos
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Reis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002857:Chromium / Q000633:toxicity*; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood*; D017449:Dermatitis, Allergic Contact / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010328:Patch Tests / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D002857:Chromium