title: The role of active B cells in allergen immunotherapy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The purpose of this study is to examine the changes in B lymphocyte subsets in patients receiving allergen immunotherapy.
  
  
  METHODS
  B lymphocyte subsets of patients before immunotherapy and one year after immunotherapy began were examined using the flow cytometric method. Age-matched healthy children served as the control group.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-two patients with asthma and/or allergic rhinitis and 14 healthy, age-matched controls were included in the study. The median age of the patients was 13 years old (range: 6-20 years), and eleven (50.0%) were male. The median age of the healthy controls was also 13 years old (range: 7-17), and seven (50.0%) were male. In the age group from 11 to 15 years; the patients' relative and absolute counts of active and mature sensitive B cells were higher than those of the healthy children (p=0.027-0.012 and p=0.032-0.010, respectively) before immunotherapy. The relative and absolute counts of active B cells before immunotherapy were also significantly higher than those of after immunotherapy (p=0.001-0.001, p=0.025-0.037, and p=0.029-0.035, respectively). Before immunotherapy, the relative and absolute counts of mature sensitive B cells were significantly higher than those obtained after immunotherapy (p=0.024-0.006) in the 11-15-year-old age group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Allergen immunotherapy directly influences B cell differentiation and causes a decrease in the count of active B cells. This finding is relevant because the B cell count can be used as a guide in the assessment of an individual patient's treatment response and also when determining whether to continue the immunotherapy.
authors.affiliation: Ondokuz Mayıs University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, Samsun, Turkey. Electronic address: drmhc@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Celiksoy
authors.affiliation: Ondokuz Mayıs University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, Samsun, Turkey.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sancak
authors.affiliation: Ondokuz Mayıs University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, Samsun, Turkey.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yildiran
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000485:Allergens / Q000276:immunology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001249:Asthma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy*; D016175:B-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology*; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002648:Child; D003888:Desensitization, Immunologic / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007159:Immunologic Tests; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D008297:Male; D015166:Monitoring, Immunologic; D065631:Rhinitis, Allergic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000485:Allergens
keywords: Allergen immunotherapy; Allergic asthma; Allergic rhinitis; Autoimmunity; B cells; CD23