Cytokine production in peripheral blood cells during and outside the pollen season in birch- XXXX @entity1 and non- @entity56 controls.

@entity1 @entity32 @entity225 @entity2841 @entity4047 @entity404 @entity5750 @entity1198 @entity56 @entity379 @entity3646 @entity688 @entity405
BACKGROUND: The naturally occurring pollen season permits observation of the kinetic changes in the process of @entity32 . We examined cytokine production in peripheral blood (PB) T cells and monocytes obtained from birch- @entity56 @entity1 both during and outside the pollen season. METHODS: PB from 16 @entity1 and six healthy controls was obtained during the alder pollen season, at the beginning and the peak of the birch pollen season and outside the pollen season. Mononuclear cells (MNC) were stimulated with allergen and polyclonal activators. For flow cytometric analysis, MNC were stained with monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs) against the cell surface markers CD3, @entity405 , @entity5750 and the intracellular cytokines @entity3646 , @entity225 , @entity688 , IL-12, @entity4047 , @entity2841 ( @entity2841 ) and @entity379 . RESULTS: In @entity56 @entity1 , significant increases in clinical symptoms, use of medication, eosinophil numbers and birch-specific IgE were found during the pollen season. In vitro allergen stimulation increased the number of @entity2841 + monocytes (P<0.01) and this increase was dependent on allergen exposure. The @entity3646 / @entity379 ratio rose (P<0.001) at the peak of birch pollen season and the ratio correlated with symptom scores during the birch season. In the @entity404 + cell population, the numbers of @entity2841 + cells were higher throughout the alder and birch seasons compared with outside the pollen season (P<0.05). No such changes were seen in the healthy controls. CONCLUSIONS: The main finding of our study was the increased percentage of @entity2841 + monocytes in atopic subjects compared with healthy controls. In @entity56 @entity1 , natural seasonal pollen exposure resulted in increased numbers of @entity2841 + cells among both monocytes and @entity404 + T cells. We have also shown that a seasonal change in Th2/ @entity1198 cytokine ratio requires an adequate and prolonged allergen stimulation that is seen late in the pollen season.
