[Discussion IL-33 and its receptor ST2 associated with the pathogenesis of allergic rhinitis]

To study the expression of IL-33 and its receptor ST2 in the nasal mucosa of allergic rhinitis (AR) patients, and to explore the role of IL-33 and ST2 in the pathogenesis of AR.

Collected 24 cases of nasal septum deviation of patients with AR as AR group,and selected 20 patients with simple septum deviation as normal control. In addition, collected 20 cases diagnosed with AR, who accepted standardized specific immunotherapy(SIT).

Immunohistochemical results found more positively stained cells of IL-33 and ST2 in AR patients than normal control group, the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05), Western-Blot detected that IL-33 and ST2 protein level were significantly higher in AR than the normal control group (P < 0.01), PCR detected that the expression of IL-33mRNA and ST2mRNA were increased in AR group compared with the control group, the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). While, the serum IL-33 levels in AR were decreased before treatment (72.37 ± 16.18) ng/L than after six months of SIT (47.35 ± 10.59) ng/L,and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05).

IL-33 and its receptor ST2 were highly expressed in the nasal mucosa of patients with AR, suggesting that IL-33/ST2 may play an important role in the pathogenesis of allergic rhinitis. Serum levels of IL-33 were significantly decreased after SIT treatment, suggesting that IL-33 may have a positive correlation with the severity of AR.