Sensitization to mites in house dust among children suffering bronchial asthma]

The results of studying allergy to domestic dust in 168 patients suffering from bronchial asthma are presented. The diagnosis was made by means of the domestic dust allergen (10000 PNU), fraction E extracted from the whole allergen by Berrens and Young's method, and with lyophilized extract from D. pteronussinus, farinae and Glycyphagus ticks isolated from domestic dust by Voohorst and Spieksma's method. In parallel, IgE was determined in the blood serum of the patients under study by the radio-allergo-sorbent test; IgG was also determined. Microticks proved to be not the only factor determining the activity of domestic dust. Results of diagnosis in vivo and in vitro were found to correlate. The authors believe that the activity of domestic dust allergen formed on account of the reactions of the Maillard's type, in which a significant role was played by the "lysine-sugar) compounds.     

The detection of house dust mites in the apartments of children with allergic diseases

The acarological study of house dust in 239 apartments of children with different allergic diseases (bronchial asthma, rhinosinusitis, atopic dermatitis) developing as the result of indoor sensitization has been carried out. The significant difference between the occurrence of house-dust mites in apartments inhabited by healthy and sick children has been established. The occurrence of mites and their number have been found to affect the symptoms of an allergic disease and its exacerbation.     

Delayed hypersensitivity to Candida albicans

Conditions and factors influencing the formation of delayed hypersensitivity (DH) to yeast-like fungi of the species C. albicans under experimental conditions have been studied. The intensity of this reaction has been found to depend on the dose and method used for infecting mice, the time of the test and the qualitative state of fungal cells. As the result of this study, the infectious model of DH to C. albicans has been proposed. This model may be used for the study of the influence of different exogenous and endogenous factors of cell-mediated immune response to candidiasis.     

Immune response to sublingual immunotherapy in children allergic to mites

Allergic rhinitis (AR) is characterized by Th2 polarized immune response. Specific immunotherapy modifies this arrangement restoring a physiologic Th1 profile. Sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) is widely prescribed, but there is no early marker of response. The aim of this study is to investigate possible marker of SLIT effectiveness. Thirty children with mite allergy were studied: 15 were treated with drugs alone, 15 with SLIT and drugs on demand. The study lasted 2 years. Visual analogue scale (VAS) for symptoms and medication score were evaluated. Serum cytokines (IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IFN-gamma, MCP-1, and TNF-alpha) were assessed by ELISA before and after 1 and 2 year SLIT. SLIT-treated children obtained a significant improvement of symptoms and a reduction of drug use, whereas children treated with a drug alone did not obtained any change. IL-10 significantly increased, whereas Th2-dependent and pro-inflammatory cytokines significantly decreased. In conclusion, the present study demonstrates that 2-year SLIT is capable of inducing immunologic hyporeactivity to mites.     

Delayed hypersensitivity reaction to rat xenoantigens in mice

A scheme of delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) to xenogeneic lymphoid cells induced in mice was suggested. Subcutaneous injection of normal mice with 5 X 10(6) rat spleen cells in a complete Freund's adjuvant with the results evaluated 5 days after was found the optimal condition for DTH development. Mediated by T lymphocytes the response was shown to be maximal 24 hours after the challenge.     

Delayed hypersensitivity in mast-cell-deficient mice

The ability of mast cell-deficient Wf/Wf and W/Wv mice to produced delayed hypersensitivity responses was examined. The W/Wv mice did not have detectable mast cells and could not produce IgE-mediated passive cutaneous anaphylaxis. Mice of both genotypes produced large delayed hypersensitivity responses to the contact sensitizers oxazolone and picryl chloride. The responses were indistinguishable from responses of control mice when challenged with optimal or suboptimal doses of antigen. Delayed hypersensitivity could be transferred into Wf/Wf mice by an antigen-specific T cell line, and the proliferative responses in the lymph nodes of these mice after, painting with sensitizer, were normal.     

Correlation between active rosette formation and delayed cutaneous hypersensitivity in experimental allergic encephalomyelitis

The effect of encephalitogenic myelin basic protein, BP, on active rosette-forming T cells (ARFC) was compared to that of nonencephalitogenic peptide S42, a synthetic analogue of the tryptophan region of BP. Depression of ARFC by these antigens was reversible within 24 h after a second dose of the antigen into the skin, or after in vitro incubation of lymphocytes with the sensitizing antigen (Ag-ARFC). The ratio of Ag-ARFC to ARFC rose with time following the sensitization but fell shortly before the clinical onset of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis in animals sensitized with BP. In contrast, the Ag-ARFC/ARFC ratios for animals sensitized with peptide S42 reached plateau levels from which they did not drop. The kinetics of the Ag-ARFC/ARFC responses paralleled those for delayed-type skin hypersensitivity (DTH) in the respective animals. The DTH responses rose following sensitization and fell shortly after the appearance of clinical signs of EAE. The results of this study provide in vitro and in vivo evidence for sensitization to myelin basic protein, and focus attention on the ARFC as a measure for an immunologically active cell population which may be quantitated by antigenic stimulation.Abbreviations used in this report EAE experimental allergic encephalomyelitis - DTH delayed-type skin hypersensitivity - ARFC active rosette-forming T cells - Ag-ARFC antigen-stimulated active rosette-forming T cells - TRFC total rosette-forming T cells     

Specifically reactive cells in experimental allergic pertussis encephalomyelitis]

Dynamics of emergence of specific reactive cell (SRC) with respect to the brain antigen in the draining regional lymph nodes and peripheral blood was studied in experimental whooping cough allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) in guinea pigs. The greatest number of SRC in the regional lymph nodes, that markedly decreased by the 9th day of sensitization, was revealed in the middle of the EAE incubation period (the 6-7th day), whereas the peripheral blood showed the highest SRC number during this period. The SRC number rose in the regional lymph nodes and dropped in the peripheral blood at the height of EAE progress (the 20th day). It is concluded that SRC found may be attributed to T lymphocyte population.