Th1, Th2, Th17, and Regulatory Cytokines in Children with Different Clinical Forms of Allergy

Abstract

In addition to Th2 cells, other T cell subsets, like Th1, Th17, and regulatory T cells are also involved in the pathogenesis of allergic rhinitis, food allergy, and other allergic diseases. The aim of the study was to evaluate a wide profile of cytokines in the plasma from children with pollen/dust and cow milk allergy with the use of a multiplex Cytometric Bead Array (CBA) test. Twenty children with allergy: 11 with pollen/dust and 9 with cow milk allergy were enrolled into the study. For the analysis of INFγ, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-17A, and TNFα levels, a flow cytometric test was used. TGFβ concentration was measured using an ELISA test. Concentrations of almost all of the detected cytokines in the patient’s plasma were below 1 pg/ml, with no significant difference between the groups examined. The level of IL-17A was higher in pollen/dust allergy group (median 12.73 pg/ml; 25th percentile-Q1/75th percentile-Q3; 9.28/15.83) in comparison to cow milk allergy group (median 7.86 pg/ml – Q1/Q3; 7.86/14.37). Children with cow milk allergy had a slightly higher concentration of TGFβ than children with pollen/dust allergy (median 28.7 ng/ml – Q1/Q3; 19.77/33.00 vs. 17.84 ng/ml – Q1/Q3; 11.21/23.75, respectively); the difference did not reach statistical significance. We conclude that plasma concentration of Th1, Th2, and Th17 regulatory cytokines are relatively low in allergic children. The CBA test, which could be useful in pediatric practice as it requires a relatively small plasma sample volume, is not sensitive enough to measure low cytokine levels, since its detection limit and the standard curve are not appropriate for the concentrations of these mediators expected in clinical samples.