Asthma Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Asthma, including details on symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, causes, medications.

Impaired T helper 2 response to aeroallergen in helminth-infected patients with asthma.

Araujo MI, Hoppe B, Medeiros M, Alcântara L, Almeida MC, Schriefer A, Oliveira RR, Kruschewsky R, Figueiredo JP, Cruz AA, Carvalho EM

Servico de Imunologia, Hospital Universitario Professor Edgard Santos, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. imuno@ufba.br

Helminthic infections have been shown to inhibit allergy skin-prick tests and to modify the course of asthma. We evaluated Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus-specific immune responses in patients with asthma by measuring levels of T helper 2 (Th2) cytokines in peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) cultures. PBMCs from Schistosoma mansoni-infected patients with asthma living in an area of polyhelminthic endemicity produced lower levels of interleukin (IL)-5 and IL-4 in response to D. pteronyssinus antigen (Ag) 1 than did PBMCs from helminth-free patients with asthma. In contrast, D. pteronyssinus Ag 1-specific production of IL-10 was higher in helminth-infected patients than in helminth-free patients. The addition of recombinant human IL-10 to D. pteronyssinus Ag 1-stimulated cultures of PBMCs from helminth-free patients led to down-modulation of production of IL-5. After helminth-infected patients with asthma received antihelminthic treatment, there was down-modulation of D. pteronyssinus Ag 1-specific production of IL-10 in vitro. S. mansoni-infected patients with asthma produce lower levels of Th2 cytokines than do helminth-free patients with asthma, and this modulation is likely done by IL-10.

Published 22 October 2004 in J Infect Dis, 190(10): 1797-803.
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