Humoral and cellular immunity in chronic urticaria

In chronic recurrent urticaria of months' or years' duration, it is difficult to identify the causative factor. From an immunological point of view, various authors have attempted to demonstrate alterations in levels of immunoglobulins and complement fractions. We do not know of any previous studies of cellular immunity in this disorder. Fifty-one patients with chronic urticaria were studied, 22 females and 29 males, with ages ranging from 8 to 70 years. The patients were considered to be affected by recurrent or chronic urticaria with no clear allergic etiology. In all subjects a determination was made of serum levels of immunoglobulins G, A, M and E and of the complement fractions: C1 inhibitor, C1q, C3, C4 and C5. In addition, a study of cellular immunity was carried out on these patients. The results of tests of humoral immunity in the group of chronic urticarial patients studied showed only an increase of IgM in 41.7%. No significant changes were noted among the complement fractions. The study of cellular immunity gave normal figures for total and for B and T lymphocytes. The only finding which may be worthy of is a slight decrease in active T lymphocytes. The lymphocyte transformation test also gave a normal response to PHA and overall a normal cellular immunity was shown in these patients. At present we do not consider that the increased IgM in 40 to 45% of the cases has any pathogenic diagnostic value.