LAUSR

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a classic Th2-mediated disease, with important contributions to the pathology of interleukins 4, 5, and 13. The co-stimulatory molecule of OX40 and its ligand interaction participate in the immune response by regulation of Th1/Th2 cells balance. Considering the paucity of information on the relation between OX40 ligand (OX40L) and AR, this study aimed to examine its expression on B lymphocytes. PATIENTS AND METHODS This case-control study consisted of 20 AR patients and 20 healthy subjects. The serum level of total immunoglobulin E (IgE) was measured using the electro-chemiluminescence (ECL) technology. The percentage of B-lymphocytes expressing OX40L was assessed by flow cytometry. The amounts of IL-4 in CD4+ T cells culture supernatant was also measured by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS OX40L expression on B lymphocytes of patients was significantly higher than the control group (44.32±19.21% vs. 2.79±2.48% respectively, p<0.001). In AR patients, OX40L expression correlated positively with the levels of serum total IgE and IL-4 produced by CD4+ T lymphocytes (p<0.01 - p<0.05) respectively. CONCLUSIONS Collectively, the findings of this work suggest that there is a relationship between the OX40L expression level on B lymphocytes and allergic markers such as IgE and IL-4 in patients with allergic rhinitis.