| Budget Amount *help |
¥3,400,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,400,000)
Fiscal Year 1998: ¥1,200,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000)
Fiscal Year 1997: ¥2,200,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,200,000)
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| Research Abstract |
Atopic disorders are caused by disregulated activation of T helper 2 (Th2) cells that produce IL-4 and IL-5, Because the presence of IL-4 potently augments the differentiation of naive T cells into Th2 cells, it is important to seek the cell population which provides IL- 4 for naive T cells. Recently, a unique subpopulation of T cells, natural killer (NK) T cells, has been shown to produce a large amount of IL-4 upon activation, suggesting their regulatory role in initiation of Th2 cell differentiation. To determine whether NK T cells play a role in human Th2 diseases, we analyzed the NK T cells in patients with asthma and atopic dermatitis (AD). We performed a frequency analysis of the invariant Valpha24JalphaQ CD4^-CD8^- T cells, probable human NK T cells, and found that the NK T cells are significantly decreased in patients with asthma and AD.In addition, we found that the majority of human NK T cells from healthy subjects produce IFN-gamma but not IL-4 upon activation. Taken together, these results suggest that the decrease of NK T cells, which produce IFN-y, may be involved in the pathogenesis of atopic diseases, such as asthma and AD.
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