Progressive increase of FcεRI expression across several PBMC subsets is associated with atopy and atopic asthma within school-aged children.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Antigen-specific IgE binds the Fcε receptor I (FcεRI) expressed on several types of immune cells, including dendritic cells (DCs). Activation of FcεRI on DCs in atopics has been shown to modulate immune responses that potentially contribute to asthma development. However, the extent to which DC subsets differ in FcεRI expression between atopic children with or without asthma is currently not clear. This study aimed to analyse the expression of FcεRI on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from atopic children with and without asthma, and non-atopic/non-asthmatic age-matched healthy controls. METHODS: We performed multiparameter flow cytometry on PBMC from 391 children across three community cohorts and one clinical cohort based in Western Australia. RESULTS: We confirmed expression of FcεRI on basophils, monocytes, plasmacytoid and conventional DCs, with higher proportions of all cell populations expressing FcεRI in atopic compared to non-atopic children. Further, we observed that levels of FcεRI expression were elevated across plasmacytoid and conventional DC as well as basophils in atopic asthmatic compared to atopic non-asthmatic children also after adjusting for serum IgE levels. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that the expression pattern of FcεRI on DC and basophils differentiates asthmatic from non-asthmatic atopic children. Given the significant immune modulatory effects observed as a consequence of FcεRI expression, this altered expression pattern is likely to contribute to asthma pathology in children.