Original Articles: Mechanisms of AllergyLocal expression of ϵ germline gene transcripts and RNA for the ϵ heavy chain of IgE in the bronchial mucosa in atopic and nonatopic asthma☆
Section snippets
Patients
The study was performed with the approval of the Ethics Committees of the Royal Brompton Hospital (London, United Kingdom) and the Hochgebirgsklinik (Davos Wolfgang, Switzerland). Written informed consent was obtained.
Bronchial biopsy specimens were taken from atopic asthmatic subjects and nonatopic control subjects. We also included a group of nonatopic asthmatic subjects and atopic nonasthmatic control subjects (Table I).11Empty Cell Atopic asthmatic subjects Empty Cell
Results
Individual CD20+ B lymphocytes were seen scattered throughout the bronchial mucosa, mainly within the lamina propria, as discreet individual cells rather than cell aggregates (Fig 1, A ). There was a wide scatter from 0 to 90 cells/mm2 in both atopic and nonatopic asthmatic subjects and in atopic and nonatopic healthy subjects, with no significant differences among the groups (Table II).
Cells expressing RNA for the sterile ϵ germline gene transcript (Iϵ) and mature RNA for the ϵ heavy chain
Discussion
In patients with bronchial asthma compared with normal control subjects, despite comparable numbers of CD20+ B lymphocytes within the bronchial mucosa, we detected elevated numbers of cells expressing the ϵ germline gene transcript (Iϵ) and cells expressing Cϵ, which detects either the sterile transcript or mature ϵ heavy chain messenger RNA. These elevations were detected in biopsy specimens from both atopic and nonatopic asthmatic subjects but not in biopsy specimens from atopic nonasthmatic
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Reprint requests: Stephen R. Durham, MD, Upper Respiratory Medicine, Imperial College School of Medicine at the National Heart and Lung Institute, Dovehouse St, London SW3 6LY.