RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: The aim of our study was to determine the diagnostic usefulness of a newly developed basophil activation test (BAT) in patients allergic to Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and pollens. We also analyzed the influence of cetirizine on CD63 upregulation. This popular antihistamine strongly inhibits skin tests, but its impact on BAT sensitivity remains unknown and deserves at least preliminary determination. METHODS: The study sample comprised 22 patients allergic to house dust mite and pollens and 19 healthy controls. All participants underwent skin prick testing and the newly developed flow-cytometric basophil activation test. The protocol for allergen-induced basophil CD63 upregulation consisted of whole blood samples that were processed and stained with anti-CCR3/CD63 antibodies added to the buffer at the beginning of stimulation. Skin prick tests and BAT were performed twice--before and 2 hours after ingestion of 10 mg of cetirizine. RESULTS: The new BAT is characterized by its short processing time, easy basophil gating, and strong CD63 upregulation with very high sensitivity and excellent specificity. Our results suggest that allergen-induced CD63 upregulation by higher doses of allergens is not inhibited 2 hours after administration of cetirizine (unlike skin prick tests). CONCLUSION: The BAT is a very useful and precise method for the diagnosis of allergy to aeroallergens. It is not influenced by cetirizine.
Assuntos
Antígenos CD/metabolismo , Teste de Degranulação de Basófilos/métodos , Basófilos/metabolismo , Hipersensibilidade/diagnóstico , Glicoproteínas da Membrana de Plaquetas/metabolismo , Adulto , Animais , Antígenos CD/genética , Antígenos CD/imunologia , Antígenos de Dermatophagoides/imunologia , Antígenos de Plantas/efeitos adversos , Antígenos de Plantas/imunologia , Basófilos/efeitos dos fármacos , Basófilos/imunologia , Basófilos/patologia , Degranulação Celular/efeitos dos fármacos , Degranulação Celular/imunologia , Separação Celular , Células Cultivadas , Cetirizina/administração & dosagem , Cetirizina/farmacologia , Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus/imunologia , Estudos de Viabilidade , Feminino , Citometria de Fluxo , Regulação da Expressão Gênica/efeitos dos fármacos , Regulação da Expressão Gênica/imunologia , Antagonistas não Sedativos dos Receptores H1 da Histamina/administração & dosagem , Antagonistas não Sedativos dos Receptores H1 da Histamina/farmacologia , Humanos , Hipersensibilidade/tratamento farmacológico , Hipersensibilidade/imunologia , Hipersensibilidade/patologia , Masculino , Glicoproteínas da Membrana de Plaquetas/genética , Glicoproteínas da Membrana de Plaquetas/imunologia , Pólen/efeitos adversos , Pólen/imunologia , Sensibilidade e Especificidade , Tetraspanina 30RESUMO
Binding of histamine (histaminopexy) by blood serum proteins of 16 hayfever patients was determined before and after treatment with Pollinex. An increase in histaminopexy by 83% in comparison to pretreatment value was observed and it was well correlated with the clinical status of the patients. Participation of this phenomenon in the mechanism of therapeutic effect of specific immunotherapy is discussed.