Inflammation and Hyperreactivity

Watanabe and coworkers raised the question of whether there might be other targets for therapeutic antibodies in a study of laboratory mice deficient in the IgG Fc receptor Fc ${gamma}$ R11B. The gene-deficient mice developed more severe airway and nasal eosinophilia after allergen challenge than wild-type mice. This was associated with reduced interleukin 4 (IL-4) production by nasal mononuclear cells and decreased generation of allergen-induced IgE. These effects were not mice strain–specific and were independent of the route and type of sensitization. The authors suggested that modulation of expression and/or function of Fc ${gamma}$ R11B might be a useful tool to inhibit allergic inflammation.

Secretoneurin is a neuropeptide potentially involved in the migration of eosinophils, monocytes, and dendritic cells, but whether it is present in human airway mucosa is not known. To investigate this issue, Korsgren and coworkers obtained nasal mucosal biopsies and lavage fluids in 24 patients with allergic rhinitis before and during the birch pollen season. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed an abundance of nerves displaying secretoneurin immunoreactivity, mainly distributed around blood vessels and submucosal glands. Most nerve fibers containing vesicular acetylcholine transporter, tyrosine hydroxylase, calcitonin gene–related peptide, and vasoactive intestinal peptide were also secretoneurin-immunoreactive, indicating that secretoneurin is localized in cholinergic, adrenergic, and sensory nerves. Allergen exposure produced an increase in secretoneurin in lavage fluid. Levels of secretoneurin were not correlated with eosinophil cationic protein. The authors conclude that secretoneurin is widely found in nasal mucosal nerves of patients with allergic rhinitis and that allergen exposure increases the levels of secretoneurin in nasal fluid.

To determine whether rhinitis is associated with hypertension, Kony and coworkers studied 330 adults (aged 28 to 56 years) as part of the European Community Respiratory Health Survey. Systolic blood pressure was higher in men with rhinitis (diagnosed by questionnaire) than in men without rhinitis: 131 versus 124 mm Hg. After multivariate adjustment, hypertension (defined as systolic pressure of at least 140 mm Hg, and/or diastolic pressure of at least 90 mm Hg, and/or prescription of antihypertensive medications) was more frequent in men with rhinitis than in men without rhinitis (odds ratio, 2.6). In men, systolic pressure progressively increased on going from absence of rhinitis to seasonal rhinitis and then to perennial rhinitis. The authors conclude that rhinitis is associated with hypertension in men.

Because hypertension has been reported to be associated with rhinitis, Heinrich and coworkers reexamined the association by analyzing data from a population-based sample of 896 subjects participating in the European Respiratory Health Survey. After adjusting for age, body mass index, and smoking, neither systolic nor diastolic blood pressure was significantly different between men with rhinitis and men without rhinitis (assessed by questionnaire). Adjusted prevalence rate of hypertension did not differ between men with rhinitis and men without rhinitis. No association was found between hypertension and rhinitis in women. The authors conclude that hypertension is not associated with rhinitis.

Citations 1-4 of 4 total displayed.

Roles of Fc ${gamma}$ RIIB in Nasal Eosinophilia and IgE Production in Murine Allergic Rhinitis

Tohru Watanabe, Mitsuhiro Okano, Hisashi Hattori, Tadashi Yoshino, Nobuaki Ohno, Nobuo Ohta, Yuji Sugata, Yorihisa Orita, Toshiyuki Takai, and Kazunori Nishizaki
Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 169: 105 -112. First published online as doi:10.1164/rccm.200302-239OC [Abstract] [Full text]

Rhinitis and Blood Pressure in Adults

Joachim Heinrich, Rebekka Topp, and Sabine Brasche
Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 168: 1243 -1245. First published online as doi:10.1164/rccm.200304-525OC [Abstract] [Full text]

Neural Expression and Increased Lavage Fluid Levels of Secretoneurin in Seasonal Allergic Rhinitis

Magnus Korsgren, Jonas S. Erjefält, Josef Hinterhölzl, Reiner Fischer-Colbrie, Cecilia Ahlström Emanuelsson, Morgan Andersson, Carl G. A. Persson, Alan Mackay-Sim, Frank Sundler, and Lennart Greiff
Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 167: 1504 -1508. First published online as doi:10.1164/rccm.200212-1508OC [Abstract] [Full text]

Rhinitis Is Associated with Increased Systolic Blood Pressure in Men: A Population-based Study

Sabine Kony, Mahmoud Zureik, Catherine Neukirch, Bénédicte Leynaert, Daniel Vervloet, and Françoise Neukirch
Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 167: 538 -543. First published online as doi:10.1164/rccm.200208-851OC [Abstract] [Full text]

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Related collections:
Allergic Rhinitis and Nasal Disorders (7 articles)
Nasal Function
Inflammation and Hyperreactivity
Treatment