Objective

At least 3 years of sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) is required to achieve long-term clinical tolerance for allergens. However, immunological changes with more than 3 years of SLIT have not yet been elucidated in detail. The present study investigated whether the numbers of regulatory T (Treg) cells and regulatory B (Breg) cells increased with 4 years of SLIT and if these increases correlated with clinical effects for pollinosis.

Methods

Seven Japanese cedar pollinosis patients received SLIT in 2014 or 2015 and continued treatment until May 2019. In May 2017 and May 2019, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were collected from the patients, and analyzed by flow cytometer.

Results

(1) The visual analogue scale (VAS) was significantly higher in 2019 than in 2017. (2) The percentages of Foxp3⁺ Treg cells, type 1 regulatory T (Tr1) cells, and Breg cells in PBMCs were significantly higher in 2019 than in 2017. (3) The percentage of Foxp3⁺ Treg cells in PBMCs positively correlated with VAS, whereas those of Tr1 cells and Breg cells did not.

Conclusions

These results suggest that 4 years of SLIT is needed to achieve sustained increases in Foxp3⁺ Treg cells, which are closely associated with the efficacy of SLIT.

中文翻译：

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4年舌下免疫治疗增加Foxp3+Treg细胞数量，与临床效果相关

客观的

至少需要 3 年的舌下免疫治疗 (SLIT) 才能实现对过敏原的长期临床耐受。然而，SLIT 3 年以上的免疫学变化尚未详细阐明。本研究调查了调节性 T (Treg) 细胞和调节性 B (Breg) 细胞的数量是否随着 SLIT 4 年而增加，以及这些增加是否与花粉症的临床效果相关。

方法

7名日本杉花粉症患者于2014年或2015年接受SLIT治疗至2019年5月。2017年5月和2019年5月，采集患者外周血单个核细胞（PBMCs），流式细胞仪分析。

结果

（1）2019年视觉模拟量表（VAS）显着高于2017年。 （2）2019年PBMCs中Foxp3 ⁺ Treg细胞、1型调节性T（Tr1）细胞和Breg细胞的百分比显着高于2017年。 (3) PBMCs中Foxp3 ⁺ Treg细胞百分比与VAS呈正相关，而Tr1细胞和Breg细胞没有。

结论

这些结果表明需要 4 年的 SLIT 才能实现 Foxp3 ⁺ Treg 细胞的持续增加，这与 SLIT 的功效密切相关。