Analysis of Th1, Th2, Tc1 and Tc2 cells in patients with allergic rhinitis.

Allergic rhinitis (AR) is an IgE-mediated inflammatory disease of the nasal mucous membranes, characterized by paroxysms of sneezing, itching of the nose, eyes, palate, pharynx, and conjunctivae, nasal stuffiness with partial or total obstruction of airflow and mucous secretion often accompanied by post-nasal drainage. A T helper (Th)1/Th2 cytokine imbalance with a predominance of Th2 cytokines has been suggested of pathogenic importance in AR. To evaluate the role of Th1/Th2 cytokines in AR, the subsets of Th1, Th2, T cytotoxic type 1 (Tc1) and Tc2 cells from patients with AR were examined by intracellular cytokine flow cytometry. The population of Tc1 cells (52.3±23.6%) in AR was significantly increased compared with that in control (35.4±14.6%, P<0.05). Th1, Th2 and Tc2 cells in AR were not significantly increased vs. control. However, the ratio of Th1/Th2 was significantly decreased and the ratio of Tc1/Tc2 was significantly higher in patients with AR compared with healthy individuals ( P<0.05 and P<0.01, respectively). These results indicate that the predominance of Th2 and Tc1 cells might contribute to the pathogenetic mechanism in AR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]