2005 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary

A study of new mechanisms by basophils on immunotherapy for allergic rhinitis

Research Project

Project/Area Number	15591805
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Section	一般
Research Field	Otorhinolaryngology
Research Institution	Mie University
Principal Investigator	YUTA Atsushi Mie University, Hospital, Assistant professor, 医学部附属病院, 講師 (80293778)
Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha)	MAJIMA Yuichi Mie University, Hospital, Professor, 大学院・医学系研究科, 教授 (60024791)
Project Period (FY)	2003 – 2005
Keywords	allergic rhinitis / immunotherapy / basophil / histamine release test
Research Abstract	We showed the clinical and economical efficacy of Immunotherapy (IT) in patients with cedar pollinosis, by following these patients for three years. We also investigated histamine release rate (HRR) to investigate whether HRT can lead to a new mechanism of IT. As the result, HRR was suppressed by IT, and the suppression was larger in the case that IT was effective. The present study investigated histamine release from basophils, which is not involved in Th1/Th2 balance-based lymphocyte responses. Activation of basophils may have been inhibited, and this is very interesting because it may lead to a new mechanism, unlike previous investigations of the mechanism of IT focusing on lymphocytes. The investigation of the degree of inhibition of HRR and the clinical effects during the cedar pollen scattering period suggested that HRR may be used as a biomarker of IT.