Cytological Changes in Nasal Secretions Accompanying Delayed Nasal Response to Allergen Challenge

In this prospective study, a quantitative determination of histamine and tryptase in nasal secretions after nasal phosphate buffered saline (PBS) and allergen challenge was performed in 18 atopic patients who were compared with ten non-allergic healthy volunteers. The aim of the study was to determine the normal and pathological concentrations of these important mediators in nasal secretions. The second objective was to test the relevance of these two mast cell secreted mediators after nasal challenge. Results showed that the concentrations of tryptase in almost all samples were under the minimal detection limit (< 0.5 μU/g) and only a sigrtificant increase of tryptase (median, 28 μU/g) occurred immediately after nasal allergen challenge in the patient group. Histamine concentration significantly increased after every nasal PBS challenge (median, 69 ng/g after first PBS challenge and 165 ng/g after second PBS challenge) in the control group, as well as in the patient group after both PBS (median, 69 ng/g) and allergen (median, 214 ng/g) challenge. On the other hand, a rapid onset of sneezing and increase in nasal airway resistance was experienced only in the patient group after nasal allergen challenge, but did not occur after PBS challenge even though the histamine concentrations significantly increased in both groups. This study suggests that tryptase is a more preferable marker than histamine in quantitative monitoring of mast cell activation especially during the early phase nasal allergic reaction.

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Substance P and Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide in Nasal Secretions and Plasma from Patients with Nasal Allergy

Annals of Otology Rhinology & Laryngology ◽

10.1177/000348949310200104 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 102 (1) ◽

pp. 16-21 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Tokuo Chaen ◽

Noritake Watanabe ◽

Kazuo Mori ◽

Goro Mogi ◽

Masaharu Takeyama

Keyword(s):

Substance P ◽

Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide ◽

House Dust ◽

Allergen Challenge ◽

Japanese Cedar ◽

Normal Subjects ◽

Control Group ◽

Nasal Allergy ◽

Nasal Secretions ◽

The Mean

To clarify the role of substance P (SP) and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) in nasal allergy, we measured their concentrations in the nasal secretions and plasma of normal subjects and patients with nasal allergy to house dust and Japanese cedar pollen by competitive enzyme-linked immunoassay. The mean levels of SP (224 pmol/L) and VIP (41.6 pmol/L) in the nasal secretions of normal subjects were significantly higher than those in plasma (SP 3.04 pmol/L and VIP 1.04 pmol/L; p < .01). The mean levels of SP and VIP in the nasal secretions of the pollinosis group were significantly higher than those of the control group (p < .05 and p < .01), while the levels of the house dust allergy group were not higher than those of the control group. Intranasal allergen challenge significantly reduced SP levels in the nasal secretions of the allergy groups, while it did not influence VIP levels in the nasal secretions. These findings suggest that SP and VIP are actively secreted into the nose and may play an important role in the allergic reaction on the surface of the human nasal mucosa.

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