Local Expression of Mucosal YKL-40; Correlation of YKL-40 with Clinical Manifestations and Immunopathogenesis of Moderate/Severe Persistent Allergic Rhinitis Patients.

YKL-40 is an important protein that plays a critical role in chronic inflammation in hypersensitivity disease. In this study, the expression of YKL-40 was investigated among patients with moderate/severe persistent allergic rhinitis (M/S PAR), patients with mild (M) PAR and healthy individuals. Moreover, the association between YKL-40 and immunopathogenesis of M/S PAR was meticulously surveyed. For this purpose, surgical samples were tested by real-time polymerase chain reaction to evaluate YKL-40 mRNA expression. The presence and location of YKL-40 protein in the tissue samples were determined by immunohistochemistry. Additionally, we measured the number of eosinophils per field in the tissue samples, blood eosinophils, total serum IgE, specific serum IgE, total nasal syndrome score (TNSS) and YKL-40 serum levels. The data indicated that production of YKL-40 in patients with M/S PAR increased significantly when compared with the control group. Furthermore, local production of YKL-40 correlated with specific IgE, nasal eosinophil count and TNSS. The results of the present study indicate that YKL-40, for its correlation with allergic clinical manifestations and symptom severity in M/S PAR patients, should be considered as a trigger factor in AR.

Differential Expression of Fas in Moderate/Severe and Mild Persistent Allergic Rhinitis and Its Correlation With Pathological Parameters.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The roles of Fas in immune system are multifaceted, and the interaction between Fas receptor and Fas ligand is essential for maintaining the immune tolerance. We aimed to assess the level of the expression of Fas receptor on nasal inferior turbinate mucosa in patients with mild persistent allergic rhinitis (M PAR) and moderate to severe (M/S) PAR and determined the relationship between disease severity and production of Fas. METHODS: A total of 70 patients with M/S PAR, 70 patients with M PAR, and 70 healthy individuals were enrolled in this study. We obtained biopsies of nasal inferior turbinate mucosa from the participants. The expression of Fas mRNA was evaluated by real-time polymerase chain reaction. The presence and location of Fas were determined by immunohistochemistry. The number of eosinophils per field, blood eosinophils, total serum IgE levels, and specific serum IgE levels were measured. Clinical manifestations of patients were assessed by Total Nasal Syndrome Score (TNSS). RESULTS: The expression of Fas in patients with M/S PAR was decreased significantly compared to the control group and patients with M PAR. Local mucosal expression of Fas was correlated with specific IgE, nasal eosinophil count, and TNSS. CONCLUSION: According to the results of this study, there might be a relationship between the expression of Fas receptor on nasal turbinate mucosa and the severity of persistent allergic rhinitis.

Alteration in CD8+ T cell subsets in enterovirus-infected patients: An alarming factor for type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Type 1 diabetes is a multi-factorial disease that can develop due to the combination of genetic and environmental factors. Viruses, particularly enteroviruses, are major environmental candidates in the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes, even though the mechanisms of pathogenicity of these viruses and their effects on the immune system have not been understood very well yet. Previous studies show that any imbalance in the population of different lymphocyte subsets could develop autoimmune diseases. Our theory is that enteroviral infection causes an impairment in the distribution of lymphocyte subtypes and consequently results in the diabetes onset in some individuals. Therefore, in this project, we evaluated the distribution of T CD8+ lymphocytes and their subsets in type 1 diabetes patients. This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between enteroviral infection and type 1 diabetes mellitus in an Iranian population, and suggestion a predicting approach for susceptible subjects.