'Entopy': localized mucosal allergic disease in the absence of systemic responses for XXXX .

@entity2023 @entity566 @entity1097 @entity2490 @entity402
BACKGROUND: The Th2 immune response in the nasal mucosa of subjects with @entity2023 is mediated by allergen-specific IgE. Moreover, these subjects show positive responses for markers of systemic @entity402 , including allergen-specific skin sensitivity and raised serum IgE titres. In contrast, idiopathic @entity2490 (IR) subjects with similar histological nasal mucosal features differ in being defined as non-allergic because they have negative @entity1097 responses. OBJECTIVE: We hypothesized that it is possible to have an allergic Th2 disease pathway localized in the nasal mucosa of 'non-allergic' @entity2490 subjects despite an absence of @entity1097 responses. METHODS: The presence of house dust mite and grass pollen-specific IgE antibodies was investigated in non- @entity1097 (n=10) and @entity1097 (n=11) subjects with persistent @entity2490 and compared to normal (n=12) control subjects. Biotin-labelled allergen was used to localize specific allergen-binding antibodies in situ in sections of nasal mucosa. RESULTS: Grass pollen allergen binding was detected in the nasal mucosa of 3/10 non- @entity1097 IR subjects but, in contrast, dust mite-specific antibodies were not detected. Specific antibodies were present in a total of 8/11 mucosal samples from the allergic group, but none was detected in normal control tissues. CONCLUSION: These findings support the concept of localized nasal @entity566 in 'non- @entity1097 ' @entity2490 subjects. We propose the term 'entopy' to define this phenomenon and believe that this concept has a wider implication for localized allergic responses in other mucosal sites.
