The pathogenetic mechanism of nonatopic asthma has not yet been defined. The idea of a possible involvement of autoimmunity in the pathogenesis of nonatopic asthma has been proposed by earlier studies. To evaluate the possible involvement of autoimmune response against bronchial epithelial cell in the pathogenesis of nonatopic asthma, we measured circulating autoantibodies to cultured human bronchial epithelial cell (BEAS-2B cell line) using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. We used stored serum samples form 38 age-matched healthy controls, 26 adult patients with atopic asthma, 16 adult patients with nonatopic asthma, and 12 adult patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. Levels of IgG autoantibodies to bronchial epithelial cell were significantly higher in patients with nonatopic asthma (mean+/-SD of absorbance values; 0.135+/-0.030) and systemic lupus erythematosus (0.293+/-0.181) than in healthy controls (0.112+/-0.016) and patients with atopic asthma (0.116+/-0.031) (p<0.05). This study showed that levels of circulating IgG autoantibodies to bronchial epithelial cell were increased in adult patients with nonatopic asthma. Further studies are needed to evaluate the possible involvement of autoimmune mechanism in the pathogenesis of nonatopic asthma.
Adult ; Asthma/*immunology ; Autoantibodies/*blood ; Bronchi/*immunology ; Cells, Cultured ; Epithelial Cells/immunology ; Human ; Hypersensitivity/immunology ; IgG/blood

OBJECTIVETo determine the diagnostic values of plasma CD64 and soluble triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1 (sTREM-1) in children with pneumonia.

METHODSSixty children with pneumonia between August 2014 and October 2015 were classified into bacterial pneumonia group (25 cases), viral pneumonia group (17 cases), and Mycoplasma pneumonia group (18 cases) according to their clinical manifestations, pathogen cultures, and X-ray findings. Another 30 healthy children who underwent physical examination during the same period were selected as the control group. The concentrations of CD64 and sTREM-1 in blood samples were determined using ELISA. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of plasma CD64 and/or sTREM-1 for bacterial pneumonia.

RESULTSThe expression of CD64 and sTREM-1 in the bacterial pneumonia group was significantly higher than that in the viral pneumonia, Mycoplasma pneumonia, and control groups (P<0.05). The areas under the ROC curves of CD64, sTREM-1, and a combination of the two markers for diagnosing bacterial pneumonia were 0.878, 0.805, and 0.956, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of CD64 for diagnosing bacterial pneumonia were 81.30% and 92.32%, respectively, when the cut-off value was 641 pg/mL. The sensitivity and specificity of sTREM-1 for diagnosing bacterial pneumonia were 78.65% and 84.67%, respectively, when the cut-off value was 1 479 pg/mL. The sensitivity and specificity of a combination of the two markers for diagnosing bacterial pneumonia were 93.15% and 91.54%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONSPlasma CD64 and sTREM-1 can be used as markers for diagnosing pediatric bacterial pneumonia, and a combination of the two markers results in better diagnosis.

Biomarkers ; blood ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Membrane Glycoproteins ; blood ; Pneumonia ; blood ; diagnosis ; ROC Curve ; Receptors, IgG ; blood ; Receptors, Immunologic ; blood ; Triggering Receptor Expressed on Myeloid Cells-1

OBJECTIVETo review and summarize literature regarding stimulatory and inhibitory signaling pathways from different types of Fc gamma receptors (FcgammaRs).

DATA SOURCEArticles were obtained from Medline from January 1991 to April 2002.

STUDY SELECTIONOver 100 English language papers and reviews published over the last 11 years were selected.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONSStimulatory Fcgamma receptors include FcgammaRI, FcgammaRIIA, FcgammaRIIC, and FcgammaRIII A. They transduce signals through the immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif (ITAM) in subunits or in the cytoplasmic domain. Inhibitory Fcgamma receptors, such as FcgammaRIIB, are single chain receptors, transducing signals through an immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motif (ITIM) in cytoplasmic domains. Stimulatory signals include protein phosphorylation, increase in intracellular free calcium, the production of 1,4,5-triphosphate inositol (IP(3)) and diacylglycerol (DAG) mainly through the Src-family kinases, phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3-K) and phospholipase C (PLC). Inhibitory signaling has been implicated in the repression of the above activities as well as inhibition of B cell responses through Src homology 2-containing inositol phosphatase (SHIP).

Amino Acid Motifs ; Animals ; Blood Platelets ; physiology ; Humans ; Phagocytes ; physiology ; Receptors, IgG ; chemistry ; physiology ; Signal Transduction ; physiology

Little is known about the prevalence of naturally acquired IgG antibodies to the capsular polysaccharides of Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcal IgG) in Korea. In the present study, we investigated transplacental transfer and age-related levels of pneumococcal IgG to provide background seroepidemiologic data for S. pneumoniae in Korea. One hundred thirty eight sera were assayed by ELISA for IgG to pneumococcal polysaccharide capsular serotypes 14 and 19, the predominant serotypes for under 15 yr of age in Korea. The subjects were divided into 7 subgroups according to age. The cord/maternal geometric mean titer of pneumococcal were 4.47+/-5.88/5.21 +/- 5.88 for serotype 14, and 4.68 +/- 5.55/6.55 +/- 6.92 for serotype 1 9 (mean +/- standard deviation, microg/mL). After birth, the geometric mean titers of pneumococcal IgG for serotypes 14 and 19 expressed in microg/mL were 1.18+/-2.12 and 1.41+/-2.17 in the 0-6 months group, 0.27+/-0.19 and 0.69+/-0.93 in 7-12 months, 0.21+/-0.22 and 0.64+/-1.32 in 1-2 yr, 0.69+/-0.78 and 2.65+/-2.46 in 3-6 yr, 2.52+/-2.72 and 8.29+/-4.24 in 7-10 yr, respectively. In conclusion, reduced transplacental transfer and very low serum concentrations of pneumococcal IgG may contribute to the susceptibility of neonates, infants, and young children to S. pneumoniae infection.
Age Factors ; Antibodies, Bacterial/metabolism* ; Bacterial Capsules/immunology* ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Human ; IgG/metabolism* ; IgG/blood ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Maternal-Fetal Exchange* ; Pneumococcal Vaccines/immunology ; Pregnancy ; Streptococcus pneumoniae/immunology* ; Vaccines, Conjugate/immunology

OBJECTIVETo investigate the value of combined determination of neutrophil CD64 and procalcitonin (PCT) in the early diagnosis of neonatal bacterial infection.

METHODSAccording to discharge diagnosis, 37 neonates with bacterial infection were divided into sepsis (n=15) and ordinary infection (non-sepsis) groups (n=22). Twenty-one neonates without infection who were hospitalized during the same period of time were enrolled as the control group. Venous blood samples were collected immediately after admission. Flow cytometry was used to measure the serum level of neutrophil CD64. Chemiluminescence and immune transmission turbidimetry were used to measure the serum levels of PCT and CRP respectively.

RESULTSThe sepsis group had higher serum levels of neutrophil CD64, PCT, and CRP than the control group (P<0.01), the ordinary infection group had a higher serum level of neutrophil CD64 than the control group (P<0.01), and the sepsis group had higher serum levels of PCT and CRP than the ordinary infection group (P<0.01). The areas under the ROC curve (AUC) of neutrophil CD64, PCT, and CRP in diagnosing bacterial infection were 0.818, 0.818, and 0.704 respectively, and the AUC of combined neutrophil CD64 and PCT was 0.926. A combination of neutrophil CD64 and PCT had a sensitivity of 97.29% and an accuracy of 89.65% in the early diagnosis of neonatal bacterial infection.The sensitivity and accuracy were higher than those of a combination of CRP and neutrophil CD64 or PCT as well as neutrophil CD64, PCT, or CRP alone for the early diagnosis of neonatal bacterial infection.

CONCLUSIONSThe combined determination of neutrophil CD64 and PCT can improve the sensitivity and accuracy in the diagnosis of neonatal bacterial infection, which helps with early identification of bacterial infection.

Bacterial Infections ; blood ; diagnosis ; C-Reactive Protein ; analysis ; Calcitonin ; blood ; Early Diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Neutrophils ; chemistry ; ROC Curve ; Receptors, IgG ; blood

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

OBJECTIVETo study the clinical value of the expression of neutrophil surface CD64 in the diagnosis of community acquired pneumonia in children.

METHODSNinety-eight children with community acquired pneumonia were recruited into the study and were classified into three groups according to pathogene: bacterial pneumonia (n=48), viral pneumonia (n=29) and Mycoplasmal pneumonia (n=21). Twenty healthy children were enrolled as controls. The bacterial infection group was subdivided into mild infection (n=36) and severe infection groups (n=12). The levels of peripheral blood neutrophil CD64 were measured using flow cytometry. Dynamic changes of C-reactive protein were also detected for each patient.

RESULTSThe CD64 index and CRP levels in the bacterial pneumonia group were significantly higher than in the other three groups (P<0.05). The CD64 index in the severe bacterial infection group was significantly higher than in the mild group (P<0.05). After antibiotic treatment, expression of CD64 in the severe bacterial infection group decreased significantly (P<0.05). The CD64 index was positively correlated with CRP value (r=0.545, P<0.01). ROC curve analysis showed that the threshold of CD64 and CRP was 2.8 and 8 mg/L respectively. Specificity of CD64 index (90%) was much higher than CRP (74%).

CONCLUSIONSThe determination of peripheral blood neutrophil CD64 contributes to the early diagnosis of pulmonary bacterial infection and the evaluation of anti-infection effect.

C-Reactive Protein ; analysis ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Community-Acquired Infections ; blood ; diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Neutrophils ; chemistry ; Pneumonia, Bacterial ; blood ; diagnosis ; ROC Curve ; Receptors, IgG ; blood

The efficacy of a formalin-inactivated hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) vaccine and the effectiveness of a related vaccination program have not been previously evaluated. We measured the primary immune responses to Hantavax by plaque reduction neutralizing antibody test (PRNT), hemagglutination inhibition test (HAI), ELISA and high density particle agglutination test (HDPA) in order to confirm a possible biological efficacy through independent substantiation of experimental results and to compare the results with previous studies. Following two doses of primary vaccination, the seroconversion rate of PRNT and HAI antibody was 33.3% (10/30)[95% C.I. 17.3-52.5%] and 26.7% (8/30) [95% C.I. 12.3-45.9%], respectively. The correlation between PRNT and HAI antibody showed a statistical significance (r=0.58, p 0.01). The seroconversion rate of HDPA and ELISA were both 76.7% (23/30) [95% C.I. 57.7-90.1%], which correlated well with each other(r=0.58, p 0.01). In our study, Hantavax elicited low neutralizing antibody responses, at least in the volunteers samples that we tested. The vaccination program, including the vaccine itself, that has been adopted by the national immunization program to protect against HFRS in Korea should be re-evaluated and re-formulated to produce a higher protective immune response rate.
Adult ; Antibodies, Viral/*blood ; Hantaan Virus/*immunology ; Human ; IgG/blood ; Korea ; Middle Age ; Time Factors ; Vaccination ; Vaccines, Attenuated/immunology ; Viral Vaccines/*immunology

BACKGROUND: Human neutrophil antigens (HNAs) are involved in autoimmune and alloimmune neutropenia and transfusion-related acute lung injury. The HNA-1 system is important in immunogenetics, and allele frequencies have been described in different populations. This study investigated the frequency of FCGR3B alleles encoding HNA-1a, HNA-1b, and HNA-1c among Thai blood donors and compared these frequencies with those previously reported for other populations. METHODS: Eight hundred DNA samples obtained from unrelated healthy blood donors at the National Blood Centre, Thai Red Cross Society, Bangkok, and the Blood Bank, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand, were included. Samples were simultaneously typed for each FCGR3B allele using an in-house polymerase chain reaction with sequence-specific primer (PCR-SSP) technique. RESULTS: The frequencies of FCGR3B*1, FCGR3B*2, and FCGR3B*3 alleles in central Thai blood donors were 0.548, 0.452, and 0.004, respectively; only FCGR3B*1 and FCGR3B*2 alleles were found in northern Thai blood donors (0.68 and 0.32, respectively). Compared with other Asian populations, central Thais had higher frequencies of the FCGR3B*2 allele (P<0.001), while the frequencies of the FCGR3B*1 and FCGR3B*2 alleles in northern Thais were similar to those previously reported in Taiwanese and Japanese populations. In contrast, the frequencies of the FCGR3B*1 and FCGR3B*2 alleles in the northern Thai population were statistically different from those observed in central Thai, Korean, German, and Turkish populations. CONCLUSIONS: FCGR3B allele frequencies were significantly different between central and northern Thai blood donors. Our in-house PCR-SSP method is a simple, cost-effective, and convenient method for FCGR3B allele detection.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group/*genetics ; *Blood Donors ; DNA/analysis ; DNA Primers/chemistry/metabolism ; GPI-Linked Proteins/genetics ; Gene Frequency ; Genotype ; Humans ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Receptors, IgG/*genetics ; Thailand

OBJECTIVETo study the correlation between the expression of Fcgamma receptor II b (FcgammaRII b) on B cells and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients of Shen deficiency syndrome (SDS).

METHODSThere were 43 RA patients, including 26 of SDS and 17 of non-SDS. The expression levels of FcgammaRII b on naive B cells, memory B cells, and plasma blasts in the peripheral blood were detected by flow cytometry. The numbers of tender joints, numbers of swollen joints, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), rheumatoid factor (RF), and disease activity score (DAS28), the correlation between the distribution of B cells and the expression level of FcgammaRII b in RA patients were analyzed. Besides, another 21 healthy volunteers were recruited as the control group.

RESULTSThe expression level of FcgammaRII b was 49.65% +/- 15.86% on memory B cells and 43.69% +/- 22.57% on plasma blasts in RA patients of SDS, significantly down-regulated when compared with those of the control group (64.03% +/- 6.01%, 66.59% +/- 10.18%, P < 0.01). The expression level of FcgammaRII b on memory B cells of RA patients of non-SDS was down-regulated more obviously when compared with that of the control group (52.70% +/- 9.52% versus 64.03% +/- 6.01%, P < 0.01). The expression level of FcgammaRII b on plasma blasts was obviously lower in RA patients of SDS than in RA patients of non-SDS (56.10% +/- 17.05%, P < 0.05). The expression level of FcgammaRII b on memory B cells was not correlated with numbers of tender joints, numbers of swollen joints, ESR, RF, or DAS28.

CONCLUSIONSThe defective immunological tolerance of B cells in RA patients of SDS might be closely correlated with down-regulation of FcgammaRII b on memory B cells and plasma blasts. There might exist genetic abnormality of FcgammaRII b gene in RA patients of SDS, thus inducing loss of autoimmunity tolerance.

Adult ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; blood ; diagnosis ; immunology ; B-Lymphocytes ; immunology ; metabolism ; Case-Control Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Middle Aged ; Receptors, IgG ; immunology ; metabolism