Effect of allergen-specific immunotherapy on recombinant human interleukin 3-mediated amplification of allergen-induced basophil histamine release

Decreased allergen-induced histamine release from peripheral blood basophils in allergic rhinitis patients treated with specific immunotherapy (SIT) correlates with clinical outcomes of SIT. The aim of this study was to investigate if decreased histamine release is a permanent effect of SIT. Fifty-one patients (mean age, 35.3 years) with allergic rhinitis, diagnosed based on clinical history and positive skin-prick test results to common aeroallergens, were studied. Twenty-three patients had never received SIT (group A), and 28 patients had been treated with inhalant allergen extracts (group B). Eleven patients from group A participated in a prospective part of this study. Basophil histamine release in these patients was evaluated before (TO) and after-1 year (TI) of SIT. Histamine release from peripheral blood with and without interleukin (IL)-3 pretreatment was performed using the glass-fiber-based histamine release test. Brief pretreatment of whole blood basophils with one of the four concentrations (0.01, 0.1, 1, or 10 ng/mL) of recombinant human IL(rhIL)-3, rhIL-5, or rh-granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor resulted in a significant amplification of allergen-induced basophil histamine release. The amplification using cytokines at the optimal concentrations was the greatest with rhIL-3 and the lowest with rhIL-5; therefore, for further studies rhIL-3 was used. Prospective analysis showed no significant difference in allergen-induced basophil histamine release on rhIL-3 pretreatment after 1 year of SIT (192.7 +/- 75.3 ng and 176.1 +/- 76.4 ng for T0 and T1, respectively; p = 0.18). Short-term SIT does not decrease rhIL-3-mediated amplification of allergen-induced histamine release from peripheral blood basophils.