PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Olga Ciepiela AU - Anna Zawadzka-Krajewska AU - Iwona Kotula AU - Urszula Demkow TI - The impact of sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) of asthma on Th1 cells susceptibility to apoptosis DP - 2012 Sep 01 TA - European Respiratory Journal PG - P1940 VI - 40 IP - Suppl 56 4099 - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/40/Suppl_56/P1940.short 4100 - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/40/Suppl_56/P1940.full SO - Eur Respir J2012 Sep 01; 40 AB - Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways. Allergen-specific immunotherapy is the unique disease modifying treatment of atopic diseases. SLIT is effective treatment associated with low incidence of systemic reactions. A disturbed T cells apoptosis plays a crucial role in the in the development of airway inflammation in the course of asthma. Nevertheless, the effect of sublingual immunotherapy on T cell apoptosis has not been elucidated. The aim of present study was to evaluate the influence of one year allergen-specific immunotherapy in asthmatic children on the frequency of Th1 Bcl-2 positive cells in peripheral blood.Twenty-five children, suffering from bronchial asthma and allergic rhinitis were enrolled to the study. Children were shortlisted for sublingual specific immunotherapy with solution containing specific allergen (grass pollen or house dust mite) extracts. The frequency of Th1 cells and the intracellular expression of Bcl-2 were evaluated using flow cytometry before and after 12 months of treatment. The frequency of Th1 cells after immunotherapy was significantly increased (13,22 [10,34; 18,95]% before versus 19,86 [16,37; 24,52]% after SLIT, p=0.01), moreover significant increase of Bcl-2 positive Th1 cells was found after treatment. At a baseline 58,34 (31,23; 76,28) % of Th1 cells showed expression of Bcl-2 protein, whereas 73,61 (68,47; 82,43) % Th1 cells expressed Bcl-2 after one year of SLIT, p= 0.0465.The increase of Th1 cells frequency secondary to SLIT might be associated with enhanced resistance to apoptotic signals. However, further studies are needed to clarify the role of T cell apoptosis in resolution of allergic airway inflammation.