Allergy and asthma proceedings :
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Allergy Asthma Proc · Jan 2003
Multicenter Study Comparative StudyHypersensitivity to molds in New York City in adults who have asthma.
Molds have been linked epidemiologically to asthma as a key aeroallergen in several studies. Other allergens such as cockroach have been linked to asthma in New York City (NYC). To our knowledge, however, the pattern of mold hypersensitivity has never been examined systematically in the NYC area. ⋯ Mold hypersensitivity was strongly correlated with hypersensitivity to cat or dust mites in patients who did not have asthma but not in patients who did have asthma. In the NYC area, recent pollen and spore counts show that mold spores are measurable in at least 75% of the year. Thus it is conceivable that mold hypersensitivity plays a contributing and independent role in initiating or perpetuating the allergic response in patients with asthma in the New York area.
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Allergy Asthma Proc · Jan 2003
Comparative StudyProduction of TNF-alpha by peripheral blood mononuclear cells through activation of nuclear factor kappa B by specific allergen stimulation in patients with atopic asthma.
Stimulation by specific allergens induces inflammatory cytokine production from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in patients with atopic asthma, but the mechanism remains unknown. PBMCs were collected from six patients with atopic asthma with an immunoglobulin E-radioallergosorbent test score to Dermatophagoides farinae of > or = 4 and six nonatopic healthy subjects (score = 0) using a dish adhesion method after density gradient centrifugation. CD23 expression in PBMCs was analyzed by the fluorescence-activated cell sorting method. ⋯ A significant translocation of NF-kappa B to nuclei by D. farinae stimulation was observed in cells from subjects with asthma (p < 0.01). Our results indicated that TNF-alpha production was induced by D. farinae in PBMCs of patients with atopic asthma by the activation of NF-kappa B via CD23. In patients with atopic asthma, CD23-mediated signals may cause proinflammatory cytokine production, which may lead to airway inflammation.