No abstract available.
Humans ; Immunity, Humoral* ; Sputum*

To evaulate the possible pathogenetic significance of allergen-specific IgA antibody in respiratory secretion from asthmatics, we measured house dust mite(HDM)-specific IgA antibody in 3% saline-induced sputum from 23 HDM-sensitive asthmatics, 4 atopic asthmatics without mite-sensitivity, 6 non-atopic asthmatics, and 13 non-atopic, non-asthmatic controls (including 6 non-atopic healthy controls, 4 patients with chronic bronchitis, and 3 patients with rheumatoid arthritis) by ELISA. We also measured HDM-specific IgA antibody in serum and numbers of eosinophils in sputum. 1) Levels of HDM-specific IgA antibody in sputum from mite-sensitive asthmatics were significantly higher than those from non-atopic, non-asthmatic controls and non-atopic asthmatics(p<0.05). Levels of HDM-specific IgA antibody in sputum from atopic asthmatics without mite-sensitivity were significantly higher than those from non-atopic, non-asthmatic controls (p<0.05), however HDM-specific IgA/albumin raito was not significantly different between two groups (p>0.05). 2) The ratio of HDM-specific IgA antibody to albumin in sputum was not significantly different in mite-sensitive asthmatics with sputum eosinophila (> or = 5% of 200 counted leukocytes) and those without sputum eosinophilia (p>0.05). 3) The ratio of HDM-specific IgA to albumin in sputum from asthmatics was higher than that of serum. 4) There was no significant correlation of HDM-specific IgA/albumin ratios between serum and sputum (p>0.05). 5) When comparing sputum and saliva samples from 7 mite-sensitive asthmatics, levels of HDM-specific IgA antibody in sputum were significantly higher than those in saliva (p<0.05). In conclusion, HDM-specific IgA anti-body was increased in sputum from HDM-sensitive asthmatics, and it might be locally produced from bronchial mucosa. To evlauate the pathogenetic significance of allergen-specific IgA antibody in respiratory secretion from asthmatics, further studies might be needed.
Bronchitis, Chronic ; Dust* ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Eosinophilia ; Eosinophils ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin A* ; Mucous Membrane ; Saliva ; Sputum*

BACKGROUND: Measurement of allergen-specific IgE antibodies using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) has been developed and the results were shown to correlate well with those obtained by radioimmunoassay (RIA). However, consensus on the optirnal condition and data expression method for the measurement of allergen-specific IgE using ELISA is still not present. Object: To define the optimal condition for the measurement of allergen-specific IgE using ELISA and to evaluate the accuracy and reproducibility of the results, METHOD: We measured the concentrations of house dust mite-specific IgE antibodies in serum samples by ELISA and RIA method (AlaSTAT, DPC, USA) using standardized Dermatop~hagoides farinae antigen (kindly donated by Allergopharma Joachim Ganzer KG, Reinbek, Germany). RESULTS: Optirnal antigen coating amount was 2 ug/well and optimal serum dilution was 1: 10 for ELISA. The expression of the absolute concentration of house dust mite-specific IgE antibodies within the unknown sample using serial dilutions of samples and standard serum seemed to be more reasonable than the expression of absorbance value at a single serum dilution, because the former method provided better inter-assay variation and correlation with RIA results. The results of specific IgE rneasurement using ELISA significantly correlated with RIA results (r=0.96, p<0.001, n=26). CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that the measurement of allergen-specific IgE antibodies using the ELISA method can be accurate and reliable if optimal assay conditions and standardized data expression are applied.
Antibodies* ; Consensus ; Dust* ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay* ; Immunoglobulin E* ; Pyroglyphidae ; Radioimmunoassay

BACKGROUND: Toluene diisocyanate (TDI) is the most prevalent agent to cause occupational asthma (OA) in Korea. The pathogenic mechanism of TDI-induced OA is still unclear. Involvement of both immunological and non-immunologicaI mechanisms have been suggested. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate a possible role of neutrophil in the development of TDI-asthma. OBJECT AND METHOD: Myeloperoxidase (MPO) as a neutrophil activation marker in both serum and induced sputum, and IL-8 in induced sputum were measured. Induced sputa and sera were collected from 15 TDI-induced OA patients (classified to group I) during TDI- bronchoprovocation test and were compared with those from 11 asthmatic subjects with negative TDI-bronchoprovocation test (group II). MPO levels were measured by radioimmunoassay, IL-8 levels, by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay and albumin levels, by nephelometry. Sputum MPO and IL-8 levels were presented as a ratio to albumin. RESULT: Serum MPO level tended to decrease during the TDI-bronchoprovocation test in two groups, but no statistical significance was reached (p>0.05). However, the ratios of MPO (the ratio of MPO level measured at 30 min to MPO level at baseline, and the ratio MPO level measured at 360 min to MPO baseline) in group I were significantly lower than group II (p=0.004, p=0.03 respectively). The IL-8/albumin and MPO/albumin levels in induced sputum from group I were significantly increased after the TDI-bronchprovocation test in comparison to the baseline value which was obtained before the bronchoprovocation test (p=0.0l, p=0.02 respectively). There was a significant correlation between the percent increase of IL-8/albumin and the MPO/albumin in induced sputum (r=0.89, p<0.05). CONCLUSION: These findings suggest a possible involvement of neutrophil in the development of bronchoconstiction after the TDI exposure, and IL-8 might contribute to neutrophil recruitment to airway mucosa. Further investigation will be needed to investigate mechanism of neutrophil activation in the pathogenesis af TDI-induced OA.
Asthma, Occupational* ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Humans ; Interleukin-8 ; Korea ; Mucous Membrane ; Nephelometry and Turbidimetry ; Neutrophil Activation* ; Neutrophil Infiltration ; Neutrophils* ; Peroxidase ; Radioimmunoassay ; Sputum* ; Toluene 2,4-Diisocyanate

Angioedma is a group of disorders with multifactorial etiology but a similar clinical expression, is characterized by swelling of subcutaneous or submucosal tissue. Systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE) is a chronic multi-systemtic disease characterized by inflammation and tissue damage resulting from deposition of auto-antibodies and immune complex. We experienced a case of angioedema which was the first manifestation of SLE in 24-year-old female patient. She had suffered from severe facial edema and multiple lymphadenopathy for six months and she also had pleural effusion, positive anti-nuclear and anti-DNA antibody test. Marked decrease of C3 and C4 levels was noted with normal antigenic level, and activity of Cl esterase inhibitor. The angioedema was not improved with anti-hitamine agents and instead disappeared with use of corticosteroid and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Complement levels normalized after corticosteroid treament. We report a case of SLE which initial manifestation was angioedema.
Angioedema ; Antigen-Antibody Complex ; Complement System Proteins ; Edema ; Female ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic* ; Lymphatic Diseases ; Pleural Effusion ; Young Adult

BACKGROUND: Hop Japanese (Hop J) pollens are abundant in the air of Korea during the autumn season. Their significances as a source of allergenic sensitization have been underestimated in this country. MATERIAL AND METHOD: In other to observe clinical features of Hop J-sensitive asthmatic patients in this country, skin prick test with Hop J pollen was performed. The serum specific IgE antibodies to Hop J pollen antigen were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in positive responders (>2+ of A/H ratio) on skin prick test. To confirm the respiratory sensitization, bronchoprovocation test was performed in 17 asthmatic patients sensitive to this pollen. RESULT: Ten asthmatic subjects showed a significant bronchoconstriction following the inhalation of Hop J pollen extract (6 early and 4 dual astmatic responses) and all of them had high serum specific IgE bindings, with minimal bindings in negative responders. They have suffered from seasonal aggravation of asthmatic symptoms with or without rhinitis, and/or conjunctivitis symptoms. The skin reactivity to Hop J had more than 5+ of A/H ratio on skin prick test in nine positive responders, whlie negative responders showed from 1+ to 3+ response. Moreover, four (40%) asthmatic subjects showed a positive response to only the Hop J pollen on skin prick test and an isolated positive asthmatic response to the Hop J bronchoprovocation test. CONCLUSION: We believe that the Hop J pollen should be considered as an allergen during the Autumn season, and thus included in skin test batteries in this area. Some labelled having intrinsic asthma or rhinitis might be sensitized to this pollen or other unknown allergens.
Allergens ; Antibodies ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group* ; Asthma ; Bronchoconstriction ; Conjunctivitis ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Humans ; Humulus* ; Immunoglobulin E ; Inhalation ; Korea ; Pollen ; Rhinitis ; Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal* ; Seasons ; Skin ; Skin Tests

Telomerase is a ribonucleoprotein that synthesizes telomere repeats. It has been reported that activation of telomerase was associtated with immortalization, proliferative activity and carcinogenesis. Recently, telomerase activity has been extensively studied in many kinds of malignant tumors for clinical diagnostic and/or prognostic utilities. In neuroblastoma, breast carcinoma,gastric carcinoma, non-small cell lung carcinoma, close relationship has been reported between high telomerase activity and lymph node metastasis, tumor aggressiveness and poor prognosis. The purpose of this study is to to investigate the clinical implication of telomerase activity assay as an adjunctive factor in decision-making on neck node management, speedy pre-operative judging on histologic malignancy grading. Thus we performed semi-quantitative assay of telomerase activity using Telomerase PCR ELISA kit(Boeringer Manheim , Germany) and evaluated correlation between telomerase activity and tumor size, neck node metastasis, Anneroth malignancy score and influence of pre-operative chemotherapy on its activity in 27 cases of oral squamous cell carcinomas and 18 cases of normal oral epithelium. Also, correlation between telomerase activities and PCNA indices was evaluated. The results were obtained as follows: 1. The telomerase activities were detected in 24 specimens out of 27 oral squamous cell carcinoma specimens (88.9%) and in 5 specimens out of 18 normal oral epithelium specimens (27.8%). The mean value of telomerase activities was 0.9793+/-0.3428 in 24 oral squamous cell carcinoma specimens and 0.4855+/-0.1117 in 5 normal oral epithelium specimens. The positivity rate and mean value of telomerase activities in oral squamous cell carcinoma specimens were significantly higher than those of normal oral epithelium specimens (p<0.05). 2. There was no significant correlation between total Anneroth malignancy score and telomerase activity (p>0.05), but points of mitosis index and depth of invasion were significantly correlated with telomerase activities (p<0.05). 3. The positive immunohistochemical staining for PCNA(proliferating cell nuclear antigen) was observed in 26 specimens out of 27 oral squamous cell carcinoma specimens and mean value of PCNA indices of 26 specimens was 53.67+/-26.46. PCNA indices were significantly correlated with telomerase activities (p<0.05). 4. The mean value of telomerase activities was significantly higher in pathologic T3/T4 group than in T1/T2 group (p<0.01). There was no significant difference of mean value of telomerase activities between pathologic neck node positive group and negative group (p> 0.05). Pre-operative chemotherapy significantly lowered the telomerase activities (p<0.05). The above results suggested telomerase activity could be used as diagnostic marker and adjunctive parameter for judging on histologic malignancy in oral squamous cell carcinoma.
Breast ; Carcinogenesis ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Drug Therapy ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Epithelium ; Lymph Nodes ; Mitosis ; Neck ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Neuroblastoma ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Prognosis ; Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen ; Ribonucleoproteins ; Telomerase* ; Telomere

Background and OBJECTIVE: There has been a few case reports of anaphylaxis due to honeybee in Korea. In order to observe the clinical feature of bee sting anaphylaxis. Moderials and methods: Six patients living in Kyunggi province area were referred under history of anaphylaxis after the bee sting. Atopy was defined by skin prick test result to common inhalant allergen. Serum specific IgE antibody to each bee antigen was detected by radioimmunoassay to identify the causative bee. RESULTS: All six cases were female. Three had atopy and four had combined allergic diseases such as allergic rhinitis, asthma, and urticaria. The etiologic bees consisted of yellow jacket (6 cases), paper wasp (4 cases), yellow hornet (3 cases), white faced hornet (1 case) and honey bee (1 case). Four cases had experienced anaphylaxis after ant bite and they showed positive result on specific IgE to imported fire ant. Specific immunotherapy against causative bee venom was begun using bee venom extracts from Bayer (USA) based upon results of specific IgE anti-body to bee venom. CONCLUSION: The yellow jacket is the most common cause of bee venom anaphylaxis in this area. Further studies will be needed to evaluate possible cross-reactivity between bee and ant venom.
Anaphylaxis* ; Ant Venoms ; Ants ; Asthma ; Bee Venoms* ; Bees* ; Bites and Stings ; Female ; Fires ; Gyeonggi-do ; Honey ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin E ; Immunotherapy ; Korea ; Radioimmunoassay ; Rhinitis ; Skin ; Urticaria ; Wasps

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: The pathogenic mechanism of aspirin-sensitive asthma (ASA-BA) remains to be further defined. To evaluate the role of circulating immune complex (CIC) in ASA-BA. SUBJECTS & METHODS: We measured IgG- and IgA-IC level by ELISA using anti-C3 antibody in 33 ASA-BA patients whose sensitivity was confirmed by lysine-aspirin bronchoprovocation test, and compared with those of 14 allergic, 14 intrinsic asthma patients and 7 healthy controls. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in IgG-IC level among the four groups (p > 0.05), while IgA-IC levels of aspirin-sensitive asthma were higher than those of other groups (p = 0.0035). Patients with nasal polyp had significantly higher IgG-IC than those without it (p = 0.02). No differences were found according to medication and symptom scores, and presence of atopy, rhino-sinusitis, urticaria or concurrent sensitivity to sulfite (p > 0.05). Insignificant correlation was found between IgG-IC level and asthma duration, total IgE level, or circulating eosinophil count. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest a possible contribution of IgG-IC to the development of nasal polyp in ASA-BA. Further study will be needed to clarify the role of IgA-IC in the pathogenesis of ASA-BA.
Adult ; Aged ; Antigen-Antibody Complex/blood* ; Aspirin/adverse effects* ; Asthma/immunology* ; Asthma/etiology* ; Asthma/complications ; Case-Control Studies ; Human ; IgA/blood ; IgG/blood ; Middle Age ; Nasal Polyps/etiology

BACKGROUND: IgE antibodies have been considered to play an important role in the pathogenesis of atapic asthma. However, there have been only few studies on the role of IgE in airway secretion in the pathogenesis of bronchial asthma. This might be partly due to difficulty in sampling of airway seceretion from asthmatic patients. Recently, sputum induction method by inhalation of nebulized hypertonic saline was developed, and proved to be valid and useful method for obtaining airway secretion from asthmatic patients for studying airway inflammation. OBJECTIVE AND METHOD: To evaluate the usefulness of sputum induction method for studying IgE antibodies in airway secretion from atopic asthmatic patients, total IgE levels in induced sputum from 54 atopic asthmatics were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) and tried to find an association with sputum eosinophilia. RESULT: Total IgE levels in induced sputum were significantly higher in atopic asthmatic patients(1.27+82.066 IU/ml) than in controls(0.203+0.291 IUgmP)(p<0.05). In atopic asthmatic patients, total IgE levels in induced sputum were not significantly different between patients with and without sputum eosinophilia(>5% of 200 counted leukocytes). There was a significant correlation of total IgE levels between induced sputum and serum in atopic asthmatic patients(r=0.60, p<0.05). Total IgE levels in induced sputum(1.278+ 2.066) were significantly higher than saliva sample(0.504 + 1.111 IU/ml) from atopic asthmatic patients(p<0.05). CONCLUSION: These results suggest that total IgE levels are increased in the induced sputum of atopic asthmat,ic patients and sputum induction method is a useful tool for studying IgE antibodies in airway secretion from asthmatic patients.
Antibodies ; Asthma ; Eosinophilia ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin E* ; Inflammation ; Inhalation ; Saliva ; Sputum*