Eosinophils play a critical role in the pathogenesis of allergic airway inflammation. However, the relative importance of eosinophil activation and pathogenicity in driving the progression of disease severity of allergic rhinitis (AR) remains to be defined. We aimed to assess the relation of activated and pathogenic eosinophils with disease severity of patients with AR. Peripheral blood and nasal samples were collected from patients with mild () and moderate-severe () house dust mite AR and healthy control subjects () recruited prospectively. Expressions of activation and pathogenic markers on eosinophils in the blood and nose were analyzed by flow cytometry. The eosinophilic cation protein- (ECP-) releasing potential and the pro-Th2 function of blood eosinophils were compared between the mild and moderate-severe patients and healthy controls. Our results showed that the numbers of activated (CD44⁺ and CD69⁺) and pathogenic (CD101⁺CD274⁺) eosinophils in the blood and nose as well as blood eosinophil progenitors were increased in moderate-severe AR compared with the mild patients and healthy controls. In addition, the levels of activated and pathogenic eosinophils in the blood were positively correlated with the total nasal symptom score and serum ECP and eosinophil peroxidase (EPX) levels in patients with AR. Furthermore, the blood eosinophils obtained from the moderate-severe patients exhibited a higher potential of releasing ECP and EPX induced by CCL11 and of promoting Th2 responses than those from the mild patients and healthy controls. In conclusion, patients with moderate-severe AR are characterized by elevated levels of activated and pathogenic eosinophils, which are associated with higher production of ECP, EPX, and IL-4 in the peripheral blood.

中文翻译：

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活化和致病性嗜酸性粒细胞水平升高是中度重度屋尘螨过敏性鼻炎的特征。

嗜酸性粒细胞在过敏性气道炎症的发病机理中起关键作用。然而，嗜酸性粒细胞活化和致病性在驱动变应性鼻炎（AR）疾病严重程度发展中的相对重要性仍有待确定。我们旨在评估活化和致病性嗜酸性粒细胞与AR患者疾病严重程度的关系。从轻度（）和中度（）屋尘螨AR和健康对照对象（）预期招募。通过流式细胞术分析了血液和鼻子中嗜酸性粒细胞的活化和致病标记物的表达。在轻度和中度重度患者与健康对照组之间比较了嗜酸性阳离子蛋白（ECP-）释放潜能和血液嗜酸性粒细胞的促Th2功能。我们的结果表明，激活的（CD44 ⁺和CD69 ⁺）和致病的（CD101 ⁺ CD274 ⁺与中度患者和健康对照组相比，中度至重度AR患者血液和鼻子中的嗜酸性粒细胞以及血液嗜酸性粒细胞祖细胞增加。此外，AR患者血液中活化的和致病的嗜酸性粒细胞水平与总鼻症状评分，血清ECP和嗜酸性粒细胞过氧化物酶（EPX）水平呈正相关。此外，与中度患者和健康对照组相比，从中度至重度患者获得的血液嗜酸性粒细胞具有更高的释放CCL11诱导的ECP和EPX以及促进Th2反应的潜力。总之，中度重度AR患者的特征是活化和致病性嗜酸性粒细胞水平升高，这与外周血中ECP，EPX和IL-4的更高产生有关。