Vol.3, No.7, 423-431 (2011)
doi:10.4236/health.2011.37070
Copyright © 2011 SciRes. Openly accessible at http://www.scirp.org/journal/HEALTH/
Health
T cell responses to der f 2 mite allergens in thai allergic
patients
Duangthep Thongdee1, Jundee Rabablert1*, Tharit Muninnobpamas2, Piyalarp Wasuwat2,
Rachanoo Pipatchaipaisan1, Supathra Tiewchareon3, Nat Malainual3
1Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Silpakorn University, Bangkok, Thailand; *Corresponding Author: jundee@su.ac.th
2Department of Otolaryngology, Pramongkutklao Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand;
3Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Received 3 May 2011; revised 31 May 2011; accepted 27 June 2011.
ABSTRACT
Dermatophagoides farinae group 2 (Der f2) is a
highly polymorphic allergen that shows a dis-
tinct pattern of sequence divergence. The effect
of the v ar iant s on a nti bo dy a nd T cel l res pon s es
has not been compared. The aim of the present
study w as to evaluate IgE binding, transcription
and translations for IL-5, IFN-
and TGF-
in-
duced by mite allergens. Sera from 24 HDM-
allergic patients and 20 non-allergic subjects
were measured for IgE reactivity by ELISA.
PBMC was cultured with mite allergens (Df,
rDerf2) and mitogen (PHA). The supernatants
and cell pellet obtained were evaluated for cy-
tokine production by ELISA and cytokine gene
expression by RT-PCR, respectively. Four pa-
tients showed IgE reactivity to both allergens.
Five patients showed IgE reactivity to Df. Other
allergic patients and all non-allergic subjects
did not show IgE reactivity to mite allergens.
Both aller g ens show ed similar levels of IL-5 and
IFN-
transcriptions in allergic patients and non-
-allergic subjects. The rDer f2 induced IL-5 pro-
tein from allergic patients higher than non- al-
lergic subjects, while Df showed IL-5 protein
from allergic patients similar to non-allergic
subjects. Df induced IFN-
protein from allergic
patients higher than non-allergic subjects whe-
reas rDer f2 induced IFN-
protein from allergic
patients similar to non-allergic subjects. The
ratio of IFN-
to IL-5 production after stimulation
with rDer f2 was higher in non-allergic subjects
than in allergic patients. Our data demonstrated
that the changes in the sequence of rDer f2
compared with native Df had effect on cytokine
production in both allergic patients and non-
-allergic subjects.
Keywords: Dermatophagoides Farinae; IgE; IL-5;
IFN-
; TGF-
1. INTRODUCTION
Dermatophagoid es farinae is a species of house dust
mites (HDM) which belong to the family Pyroglyphidae.
The mite has been ubiquitously found in common
houses in Tropical and subtropical areas [1]. D. farinae
has been recognized as important source of allergens
associated with allergic diseases such as asthma, rhinitis,
and atopic dermatitis [2]. Group 2 allergen (Der f2 from
D. farinae) is products of single gene, but it shows fre-
quent allelic variation affecting several amino acids.
Recombinant Der f2 (rDer f2) is a convenient molecule
for investigat- ing polymorphic proteins. It can be read-
ily produced as a highly allergenic recombinant protein
which has been used for X-ray crystallography and other
conformational analyses [3]. Seven amino acid substitu-
tion differences from native Df are S57N, L58I, D59N,
I63V, F75Y, V76I, and I88A. Different variants of Der f2
have dif- ferent immunoglobulin E binding activities [4].
The amino acid substitutions can render T cell epitopes
ac- tive or inactive. The cytokine pattern of T cell re-
sponses induced by different variants of rDer f2 was also
found to differ even with a single amino acid substitu-
tion [5].
Allergen specific T cell producing Th1 and Th2 cyto-
kines can be detected in blood of atopic adults [6,7]. The
cause of this allergen-specific Th2 predominance in
atopic could be related to a dysfunction of the regulatory
cytokine that modulate Th1 and Th2 responses. Experi-
mental and theoretical data support the idea that activa-
tion of Th2 cells leads to production of IL-4, IL-5 and
IL-13 that are cytokines involved in the synthesis of
specific IgE and eosinophylic inflammation [8]. On the
D. Thongdee et al. / Health 3 (2011) 423-431
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424
other hand, Th1 cells, that produce IFN-γ, inhibit the
biological effects of Th2 cytokine and are involved on
delay type hypersensitivity [9]. In spite of this observa-
tion and of their mutual inhibitory properties, the Th1/
Th2 differentiation does not explain some features such
as increasing IFN-
production by PBMC stimulated by
Der f antigens in atopic children [10] and the presence of
activated Th1 cells in asthmatic patients with bronchial
inflammation and hyper-responsiveness [11] and in some
experimental models of asthma [12]. TGF-
inhibits T
cell differentiation and proliferation of both Th1 and Th2
cells and attracts macrophages, dendritic cells and other
inflammatory cells to sites of antigen exposure. TGF-
inhibits the function of these cells once they are acti-
vated [13]. The increased levels of regulatory cytokines
TGF-
in atopic patients suggest attempts to control the
inflammatory response [14].
The major diagnosis methods of allergic diseases in-
clude skin pick tests (SPT) and serum specific IgE de-
tection. Since the SPT possesses simple, quick, inexpen-
sive and highly sensitive characteristics, it has long been
one of most essential methods for diagnosis of type I
allergic diseases in spite of the rapid development of
science and technology over the past century [15,16].
SPT allows the detection if IgE-mediated sensitivity
with simple device and low risk of causing an allergic
reaction [15,16]. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assays
(ELISA) is accurate and precise measurement of IgE and
cytokine production. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase
chain reaction (RT-PCR) allows detection of cytokine
gene expression due to it has good reproducibility and
specificity [17].
The aims of the present study were to evaluate hu-
moral and cellular immune responses to D. farinae in
allergic patients and non-allergic subjects by determine-
ing the levels of specific IgE to Df and rDer f2, the cyto-
kine (IL-5, IFN-
and TGF-
) gene expression and pro-
duction by PBMC stimulated with both allergens.
2. METERIALS AND METHODS
2.1. Mite Extracts
Total HDM extracts of D. farinae (Df) was obtained
from mite cultures provided by Siriraj Dust Mite Center
of Services and research, Department of Parasitology,
Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University,
Thailand. Briefly, mite culture was stirred in phosphate
buffered saline (PBS), pH 7.4 for overnight at 4 degree
Celsius (˚C). The mixture was centrifuged for 20 min at
12,000 xg at 4˚C. The supernatant was filtered through
No.1 Whatman paper and through 0.22 μ filter. The ster-
ile mite extract was then stored frozen at 20˚C [18].
2.2. Recombinant Allergen Group 2 of
Dermato-phagoides Farinae (rDer f 2)
rDer f2 was produced by donated from Assistant Pro-
fessor Surapon Piboonpocanun from the Institute of
Molecular Biosciences, Mahidol University, Thailand.
The positive transformants containing the integration of
interested genes were selected for small-scaled expres-
sion. Briefly, positive transformants (rDer f 2) and plas-
mic vecter (pPICZ) of Pichia pastoris (P. pastoris) [19]
were grown in yeast extract peptone dextrose (YPD)
containing 100 g/mL ZeocinTM at 30˚C with vigorous
shaking for approximately 2 days. The starter cultures
were added into 5 mL of fresh buffered minimal glycerol
complex medium (BMGY) until the absorbance of
BMGY was 0.1 at optical density (OD) 600 nanometer
(nm). After that, the starter culture with OD 0.1 was cul-
tured until the absorbance of BMGY was 5.0. The BM-
GY cultures were centrifuged at 10,000xg for 5 min, and
the cell pellets were resuspended in buffered minimal
methanol complex medium (BMMY) using 1/5 volume
of the original culture volume (approximately 1 mL). To
induce expression of recombinant allergens, absolute
methanol was added to a final concentration of 3% v/v to
the BMMY culture every 24 h. The culture media were
collected after 3 day induction. The collected culture
media were centrifuged at 12,000 xg in a bench-top mi-
cro centrifuge for 3 min at room temperature. The su-
pernatant was dialyzed.
The proteins were separated by SDS-PAGE followed
by transferring the fractionated proteins to a nitrocellu-
lose membrane using method as described by the manu-
facturer with a wet blotting apparatus (Bio-Rad, USA).
The blotted membrane was blocked overnight at 4˚C.
The membrane was further incubated with monoclonal
anti-group 2 antibodies (mAb 1D8 clone, Indoor bio-
technologies Ltd, Manchester, UK). The membrane was
incubated with Biotinylated rabbit-anti mouse IgG solu-
tion (1:5000) (SouthernBiotech, Birmingham, USA) and
BCIP/NBT 1 component substrate (KPL, USA).
2.3. Subject
A total of 24 patients with perennial allergic rhinitis
and a positive Skin prick test (SPT) to house dust mite
allergen (Der p and Der f), were selected for this invest-
tigation by Dr. Tharit Muninnobpamas of Department of
Otolaryngology, Pramongkutklao Hospital, Bangkok,
Thailand. As the control group, 20 healthy subjects with
no history of allergic diseases and a negative SPT to all
aeroallergen extracts tested were included. The study
donor was approved by the Ethics committee in Human
Research of the Phramongkutklao Hospital and written
informed consent was obtained from all volunteers.
D. Thongdee et al. / Health 3 (2011) 423-431
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425
2.4. Skin Prick Test and Serum Sample
The commercial extract of Der p (Dermatophagoides
pteronyssinus) and Der f (D. farinae), CR (American
Cockroach), Grass (Bermuda grass pollen), Dog (Dog
Epithelium), Cat (Cat pelt), Weed, Smut (Sporobolus
indicus), M (Penicillium notatum, Aspergillus niger,
Drechslera, Cladosprium spharospermum, Alternaria),
manufactured by allertech, Australia. Histamine dihy-
drochloride (10 mg/mL) was used as positive control and
normal saline (0.9% w/v) was used as negative control.
A mean wheal 3 mm in diameter larger than the negative
control (diluents) was considered to be positive. In par-
allel, blood samples (5 mL) were collected from all indi-
viduals and the serum was stored at 20˚C.
2.5. Measurement of Specific IgE
IgE reactivity to a panal of proteins from Df and rDer
f2 was determined by ELISA [5]. Briefly, dilute each
allergen in coating buffer (50 nM carbonate/bicarbonate
buffer) at concentration of 1000 ng/mL Two-hundred l
of each allergen was coated in each well of 96-well poly
polystyrene microtiter wells (NuncTM, Denmark) and
incubated at 4˚C overnight. The blocking buffer was
added into each well and incubated at 37˚C for 60 min.
The sera at dilution of 1: 10 was added into the well and
incubated at 37˚C for 120 min. biotinylated-labeled
mouse anti-human IgE antibody (SouthernBiotech, Bir-
mingham, USA) at dil 1: 1000 was added into each well
and incubated at 37˚C for 60 min. During each step, the
plates were washed with PBs-Tween20 for 5 times. The
plates was added with streptavidin-peroxidase solution at
dil 1: 1000 and incubated at 37˚C for 60 min. The color
reaction was developed by adding ABTS® peroxidase
substrate (KPL, USA). Absorbance of IgE antibody was
measurced at OD405nm with a Wallac 1420 microplate
reader (Auto DELFIA Wallac 1420; Wallac, Turku, Fin-
land).
2.6. Cell Culture
PBMC dissolved in AIM-V medium seeded into
12-well plates at 1 × 106 cells/mL per well were stimu-
lated with 100 µL allergen extracts (30 µg) (Df and rDer
f), mitogens (PHA), or medium alone and then incubated
at 37˚C in 5% CO2. The cells were harvested using cen-
trifugation at 250 × g for 15 min 4˚C at 1, 3, 5 and 7
days post-incubation. The supernatants and the cell pel-
lets were frozen at –80˚C until required.
2.7. Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
(ELISA)
The concentration of IL-5, IFN-γ and TGF-
in the
supernatant were measured with ELISA Ready-SET-Go
kits (eBioscience, Minneapolis, MN) according to man-
ufacturer instructions using an ELISA reader (Auto
DELFIA Wallac 1420; Wallac, Turku, Finland). All as-
says were performed in two independent experiments.
The concentration was calculated using a linear-regres-
sion equation obtained from the standard absorbance
values.
2.8. Reverse Transcriptase-Polymerase
Chain Reaction (RT-PCR)
The total RNA was extracted from the cell pellets using
TRI Reagent (Molecular research center, USA) ac-
cording with the manufacturer’s instructions. The total
RNA (1 µg) was incubated at 45˚C for 60 min using the
first-strand cDNA synthesis kit (Intron Biotechnology,
Korea) to prepare the cDNA. The primer sequences were
as follows: IL-5, 5’-GAG GAT GCT TCT GCA TTT
GAG TTT-3’ and 5’-GTC AAT GTA TTT CTT TAT
TAA GGA CAA-3’; IFN-
, 5’-AGC TCT GCA TCG
TTT GGG TTC-3’ and 5’-GTT GGC CCC TGA GAT
AAA GCC-3’; TGF-
, 5’-ACC ACT GCC GCA CAA
CTC CGG TGA C-3’ and 5’-ATC TAT GAC AAG TTC
AAG CAG AGT A-3’; β-Actin, 5’-ATC TGG CAC ACT
TCT ACA-3’ and 5’-GTT TCG TGG ATG CCA CAG
GAC-3’. PCR was carried out with an initial denatura-
tion at 95 for 5 min for 5 min, then 35 cycles of denatu-
ration at 95 for 30 sec, annealing at 55 for 30 sec, exten-
sion at 72 for 30 sec and final exten- sion at 72 for 10 min.
β-Actin was used as an internal control for each PCR
reaction. The final PCR products were separated on 1%
agarose gels and then visualized by ethidium bromide
staining.
2.9. Statistical Analysis
Data were expressed as the means (±SEM). The sta-
tistical differences were analyzed using the Mann-
Whitney U-test in the SPSS statistical software package
(Version 13 Chicago, IL, USA). A significant value was
defined as p < 0.05.
3. RESULTS
3.1. Subject Characteristics
The demographic and clinical characteristics of the
study subjects (Tabl e 1 ) were distributed into two groups
according to SPT positivity to commercial HDM-total
extract: 1) HDM+ group: patients with positive SPT to
HDM-total; 2) HDM- group: Non-allergic subjects with
negative SPT to HDM-total and aeroallergens. Rhinitis
was the most frequent clinical diagnosis observed in
HDM+ group but not be observed in HDM-group. The
D. Thongdee et al. / Health 3 (2011) 423-431
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426
Table 1. Demographic and clinical characteristics of the
study subject.
Characteristics Groups
HDM+ HDM-
Number of subject (N) 24 20
Age (years, means ± SD) 35.17 ± 12.06 30.75 ± 5.46
Gender (male/female)
Openly accessible at
10/14 9/11
Clinical diagnosis (N, %) 24, 100% 20, 100%
Categorized by allergens (N, %)
Der f, Der p, 9, 37.50% 0
Der f, Der p, CR, Dust, 6, 25.00% 0
Der f, Der p, CR, Dust, Smut 2, 8.33% 0
Der f, Der p, CR 2, 8.33% 0
Der f, Der p, CR, Weed 1, 4.17% 0
Der f, Der p, Cat, Dog 1, 4.17% 0
Der f, Der p, CR, Smut 1, 4.17% 0
Dust, Der f, Der p, CR, Dog 1, 4.17% 0
Dust, Der f, Der p, CR, Weed,
Cat, Dog 1, 4.17% 0
HDM+; HDM-allergic subjects, HDM-; Non-allergic subjects, Dust; House
dust, Der f; Dermatophagoides farina, Der p; Dermatophagoides ptero-
nyssinus, CR; American Cockroach, Smut; Sporobolus indicus, Dog; Dog
epithelium, Cat; Cat pelt.
HDM+ group showed the mean wheal size to HDM-total
and histamine dihydrochloride (positive control) were
3 mm. In contrast, all subjects did not show the mean
wheal size to normal saline which was used as negative
control. HDM-group showed a negative SPT to mite
extracts as well as other aeroallergens tested according
to the selection criteria used.
The highest SPT was observing at 37.5% from patients
suffering from two HDM-totals (Der f and Der p) whereas
the least SPT was observing at 4.17% from patients suf-
fering from two HDM-total and other aeroal lergens.
3.2. T Cell Responses to Df and rDer f2
Allergens at Molecular Level
IL-5, IFN-
, TGF-
cytokine genes from allergic pa-
tients and control subjects were stimulated with PHA, Df,
rDer f2, pPICZ and Medium alone by RT-PCR. The re-
sults revealed that PHA, Df, rDer f2, pPICZ and Me-
dium alone induced IL-5,and IFN-
genes in both al-
lergic patients and control subjects. In contrast, PHA, Df,
rDer f2 pPICZ and Medium alone did not induce TGF-
gene in either allergic patients or control subjects (Fig-
ure 1). It was suggesting that IL-5, IFN-
, TGF-
genes
from allergic patients were similar to those from
non-allergic subjects at molecular level.
3.3. T Cell Responses to Df and rDer F2
Allergens at Cellular Level
IL-5, IFN-
, TGF-
cytokine protein production from
allergic patients and control subjects were stimulated
with PHA, Df and rDer f2 by ELISA. For allergic pa-
tients, PHA, Df and rDer f2 induced IL-5 production at
217.76 ± 27.84, 7.47 ± 0.61 and 58.33 ± 4.92 pg/mL,
respectively. For non-allergic subjects, PHA, Df and
rDer f2 induced IL-5 production at 165.50 ± 16.61, 4.43
± 0.174 and 6.31 ± 0.85 pg/mL, respectively (Ta b l e 2 ).
Correlation between PHA and rDer f2 were found in
allergic patients (r = 0.253; p < 0.05) but not found in
non-allergic subjects (Figure 2). No correlation between
PHA and Df were found in allergic patients and
non-allergic subjects (data not shown). For allergic pa-
(a) (b)
Figure 1. IL-5, IFN-
and TGF-
gene expression to PHA, Df, rDer f2, pPICZ and medium com-
pared with
-actin house keeping gene in PBMC of allergic patients (a) and control subjects (b). (a)
Allergic patients, (b) Control subjects.
D. Thongdee et al. / Health 3 (2011) 423-431
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(a) (b)
Figure 2 Correlation of IL-5 production of PBMCs from HDM-allergic patients (a) and Non-allergic subjects (b) to
PHA and rDer f2 (r = 0.253; p < 0.05). (a) HDM-allergic patients, (b) Non-allergic subjects.
tients, PHA, Df and rDer f2 induced IFN-
production at
863.98 ± 67.78, 70.32 ± 6.74 and 619.62 ± 61.43 pg/mL,
respectively. For non-allergic subjects, PHA, Df and
rDer f2 induced IFN-
production at 1142.61 ± 78.40,
6.16 ± 0.45 and 410.73 ± 48.56 pg/mL, respectively. No
correlation between PHA and Df as well as PHA and
rDer f2 was found in allergic patients and non-allergic
subjects (data not shown). For allergic patients and
non-allergic subjects, PHA, Df and rDer f2 showed level
of TGF-
from PBMC of allergic patients and non-al-
lergic subjects at <60 pg/m (Table 2).
To analyze the effect on Th1/Th2 bias the responses
the allergic patients and non-allergic subjects, the data
showed that the cytokine release to PHA did not differ
from allergic patients and non-allergic subjects. The Df
allergen showed IFN-
/IL-5 ratio from allergic patients
(7.16 ± 0.70) higher than non-allergic subjects (1.43 ±
0.1), suggesting that Df allergen slightly induced Th1/
Th2 bias in allergic patients, but not good enough for
non-allergic patients. The reverse rDer f2 allergen sho-
wed IFN-
/IL-5 ratio from non-allergic subjects (53.57 ±
9.71) higher than allergic patients (11.25 ± 1.08), sug-
gesting that rDer f2 induced Th1/Th2 bias in non-al-
lergic subjects better than allergic patients.
3.4. Specific IgE Reactivity to Df and rDer f2
Allergens
Level of specific IgE from allergic patients and
non-allergic subjects to Df and rDer f2 were measured
by ELISA. As shown in Table 3, of 24 allergic pa-
tients who had been SPT positivity to commercial
HDM-total extract, only 4 patients (No. 3, 5, 6 and 7)
showed specific IgE to both Df and rDer f2. Only 5 pa-
tients (No. 2, 11, 14, 15 and 16) showed IgE binding to
Df whereas no patient showed specific IgE to rDer f2.
Fifteen patients showed specific IgE values below
0.35 kUA/L to Df and rDer f2. It was suggesting that the
SPT positivity to commercial HDM-total extract was not
related to IgE-binding reactivity to HDM allergens in al-
lergic patients. Of 20 non-allergic subjects, all subjects
showed specific IgE values below 0.35 kUA/L to Df and
rDer f2 (data not shown). It was suggesting that the SPT
negatively to commercial HDM-total extract was related
to specific IgE reactivity to HDM allergens in non-al-
lergic subjects. No correlation between the level of IL-5
production and the degree of IgE-binding to the rDer f2
from HDM-allergic patients and non-allergic subjects
were observed (Figure 3).
Table 2. Cy tokine protein responses to the PHA and house dust mite allergens from HDM-allergic and non-allergic subjects*.
IL-5 (pg/mL) IFN-
(pg/mL) TGF-
(pg/mL) IFN-
/IL-5 ratio
Allergic Non-allergic Allergic Non-allergic Allergic Non-allergic Allergic Non-allergic
PHA 217.76 ± 27.84 165.50 ± 16.61 863.98 ± 67.781142.61 ± 78.40<60.00 <60.00 6.83 ± 1.49 10.06 ± 2.98
Df 7.47 ± 0.61 4.43 ± 0.174 70.32 ± 6.74†‡ 6.16 ± 0.45 <60.00 <60.00 7.16 ± 0.70 1.43 ± 0.12
rDer f2 58.33 ± 4.92 6.31 ± 0.85 619.62 ± 61.43410.7 ± 48.56 <60.00 <60.00 11.25 ± 1.08 53.57 ± 9.71
*Results are presented as means (±SEM), † Significant differences between Allergic Non-allergic groups. ‡ Significant differences between Df and rDer f2
allergens. Cut off of IL-5= 4 pg/mL, IFN-
= 4 pg/mL and TGF-
= 60 pg/mL.
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428
Table 3. IgE-binding to HDM allergens in HDM-allergic patients.
IgE –binding (kUA/L)
No. SPT Allergic history
Df rDer f2
1. + Dust, Der f, Der p, CR, Smut 11.24 3.42
2. + Der f, Der p 11.07 0.40
3. + Dust, Der f, Der p, CR, 6.09 3.40
4. + Dust, Der f, Der p, CR, Dog 5.27 3.18
5. + Der f, Der p, CR, Smut 5.74 <0.35
6. + Der f, Der p, Cat, Dog 5.09 <0.35
7. + Dust, Der f, Der p, CR, 3.39 <0.35
8. + Der f, Der p, CR, Weed 1.88 <0.35
9. + Dust, Der f, Der p, CR, 0.99 <0.35
10. + Der f, Der p, CR, Weed <0.35 <0.35
11. + Dust, Der f, Der p, CR, Smut <0.35 <0.35
12. + Dust, Der f, Der p, CR, <0.35 <0.35
13. + Dust, Der f, Der p, CR, <0.35 <0.35
14. + Dust, Der f, Der p, CR, <0.35 <0.35
15. + Der f, Der p, CR, <0.35 <0.35
16. + Der f, Der p, CR, <0.35 <0.35
17. + Der f, Der p <0.35 <0.35
18. + Der f, Der p <0.35 <0.35
19. + Der f, Der p <0.35 <0.35
20. + Der f, Der p <0.35 <0.35
21. + Der f, Der p <0.35 <0.35
22. + Der f, Der p <0.35 <0.35
23. + Der f, Der p <0.35 <0.35
24. + Der f, Der p <0.35 <0.35
*SPT, skin prick tests; +, SPT wheal response diameter was more than 3 mm; *Dust; House dust, Der f; Dermatophagoides farina, Der p; Dermatophagoides
pteronyssinus, CR; American Cockroach, Smut; Sporobolus indicus, Dog; Dog epithelium, Cat; Cat pelt, *Cut off of IgE –binding; 0.35 kUA/L.
(a) (b)
Figure 3 No correla tion (r = 0.01) betw een the level of IL-5 production and the degree of IgE-binding to the rDer f2
from HDM-allergic patients (a) and Non-allergic subjects (b) were observed. (a) HDM-allergic patients; (b) Non-al-
lergic subjects.
D. Thongdee et al. / Health 3 (2011) 423-431
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429
4. DISCUSSIONS
House dust mites (HDMs) as a source of allergens and
their contribution to allergic diseases, particularly asthma
and rhinitis, have been recognized for many years [20].
Allergic rhinitis is an inflammatory reaction of the nasal
mucosa, in consequence of an IgE mediated hypersensi-
tive reaction to inhaling allergens, involving different
mediators and cytokine cells [21]. Positive skin tests
and/or serum IgE antibodies to HDM have been widely
demonstrated in genetically predisposed individuals. In
the present study, we found only 37.5 % allergic patients
presenting positive SPT to both mites (Df and Dp), while
62.5 % of allergic patients sensitized to a panel of aero-
allergen. These results were similar to those of our pre-
vious studies carried out in another group of allergic
patients from Police hospital in Bangkok [2], confirming
that the high rate of this concurrent sensitization has
certainly complicated the evaluation of the role of D.
farinae and D. pteronyssinus in these patients, particu-
larly in tropical and subtropical regions where both mites
coexist. Owing to glycosylated antigens have been
shown to play a crucial role in different pathologies,
particularly in fungal infections and allergic diseases
[20]. In this context, Df-total extract was fractioned by
SDS-PAGE and confirmed by Western blot analysis us-
ing 1D8 monoclonal antibody. The recombinant Der f2
allergen derived from P. pastoris was also fractioned by
SDS-PAGE and confirmed by Western blot analysis. The
recombinant Der f2 allergens presented predominantly
molecular weight at 14 kDa. Both allergens were used to
detect IgE antibody in allergic patients and healthy sub-
jects. We found levels of specific IgE antibody detected
by Df extract were higher than those by recombinant Der
f2 allergen in allergic patients. These results are consis-
tent with report of Almedida et al. [22] and Pipatchaipai-
san, [2]. It is implied that specific IgE antibody could be
related to natural allergen exposure, thus reflecting a
normal consequence of immediate hypersensitivity reac-
tions in allergic patients in vivo [22]. In our data, we
found that IgE are preferentially involved in this cross-
reactivity in some allergic patients to both Df extract and
recombinant Der f2 allergen. This result indicated that
IgE might be recognizing same epitope in the extract
allergen and recombinant allergen.
Several reports revealed that both the IgE-dependent
early response and antigen-primed Th2 cells are neces-
sary for a persistent atopic inflammation characterized
by the accumulation of activated inflammatory cells [23].
Previous studies have highlighted the role of IL-5 in the
development of the chronic phase of atopic inflamma-
tion and in the expression of allergic diseases [24-26].
The hypothesis of our study was that immunotherapy
may induce the functional modification from Th2 to Th1
phenotype in PBMC. To investigate the modifications of
cellular immunity in the mechanism of HDM allergens,
we evaluated intracellular IL-5, and IFN-γ gene expres-
sion as well as production from the PBMC of the allergic
patients relative to healthy subjects. We did not find sig-
nificantly difference in IL-5 or IFN-γ gene expression
from PBMC of allergic patients and healthy control sub-
jects. This data is consistent with other investigators [21].
However, we found that IL-5 production induced by Df
extract was slightly positively correlated in both allergic
patients and healthy subjects. On the other hand, we
found that IL-5 production induced by recombinant Der
f2 allergen was significantly increased in allergic pa-
tients relative to healthy subject. This data was consis-
tent with the evidence that activated T cells and the Th2
cytokine IL-5 production is increased in lung of atopic
asthmatic subjects [24,27,28]. We found no correlation
between serum HDM-specific IgE levels and IL-5 pro-
duction stimulated in either allergic patients or healthy
subjects. This is agreement with data from some but not
all studies [6,10,29].
Investigations of allergen-simulated release of IFN-
from PBMC have produced mixed results. Some studies
found decreased IFN-
production in subjects with
atopic diseases relative to healthy control subjects
[14,30,31], whereas other studies reported no difference
[32,33]. In our study, there was no significant difference
in recombinant Der f2-stimulated IFN-
production be-
tween allergic patients and control subjects, while we
found that degree of Df-total extract-stimulated IFN-
production was higher in allergic patients than in the
control subjects. It has been reported that IFN-
produc-
tion closely correlated with atopic dermatitis in infants
[10]. No absolute definition of a Th1- or Th2-type cyto-
kine response was demonstrated. An excess of Th2 cyto-
kines relative to the Th1 cytokine is implicated in the
cause of atopy [34,35]. Studies with PBMC have also
analyzed allergen-stimulated cytokine production as the
amount of IL-5, Th2 cytokine relative to IFN-
, Th1
cytokine [30]. We analyzed cytokine production induced
by HDM allergens as the ratio of the IL-5 to IFN-
pro-
duction in each culture that had a positive response to
the stimulators and expressed this ratio as a Th2/
Th1cytokine index. We found that for allergic patients
and control subjects, the Th2/Th1cytokine index was
induced by both HDM allergens, although different de
gree of Th2/Th1cytokine index was observed, suggest-
ing that HDM is the Th2-type stimulators that are con-
sistent with other reports [36]. Additionally, we found
that there is a lower frequency of HDM allergen-re-
sponsive T cells in healthy control subjects than in aller-
gic patients. Evidence of our data focuses research atten-
D. Thongdee et al. / Health 3 (2011) 423-431
Copyright © 2011 SciRes. Openly accessible at http://www.scirp.org/journal/HEALTH/
430
tion on mechanisms of T-cell recognition of, and activa-
tion by, HDM allergens. It is concluded that both aller-
gic patients and normal subjects had a Th2-type cytokine
response to HDM allergen; our data does suggest that
patients with atopic asthma have an enhanced Th2 cyto-
kine response to HDM allergen relative to healthy con-
trol subjects. Therefore, both HDM allergens increased
IL-5 production and Th2/Th1cytokine index in patients
with allergic rhinitis compared with normal subjects.
5. CONCLUSIONS
The major findings of this study are as follows. First,
PBMC from allergic patients with allergic rhinitis and
healthy control subjects have the Th2-type cytokine re-
sponse to HDM allergens. Second, allergic patients do
have an enhanced Th2-type cytokine response to HDM
compared with control subjects. These data indicate that
using of both HDM allergens in immunotherapeutic
procedures in allergic patients and healthy subjects can-
not be recommended.
6. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This study was supported by the Thailand Research Funding No.
MRG-WII 525S092 and a partial funding from TRF No. MRG-
-WII505S061. This study was also supported by Grants No. RGP-
2552-06 from Faculty of Science, Silpakorn University The authors
would like to thank the patients and nurses from Department of Oto-
laryngology, Pramongkutklao Hospital, Bangkok. We also thank the
students from Silpakorn University. Furthermore, we thanks Associate
Professor Dr. Darawan Wanachiwanawin, Department of Parasitology,
Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University for labora-
tory facility.
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