Abstract:

Objective 　To compare the mRNA expression of interleukin 2 (IL-2) and 4 (IL-4) receptors in the patients with chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU) before and after allergen immunotheropy (AIT).　Methods 35 patients with CIU were enrolled in this study, divded into group 1 with AIT and group 2 without AIT. The peripheral blood was extracted before and after test. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technique was applied to semi-quantitatively analyze the mRNA expression of IL-2 and IL-4 receptors. Results Before and after test, the mRNA expressions of IL-2 receptor were 0.356±0.111，0.370±0.092 respectively in group 1, and 0.330±0.111，0.335±0.093 in group 2. The mRNA expression of IL-4 receptor were 0.483±0.087，0.474±0.076 in group 1, and 0.511±0.080，0.527±0.086 in group 2. It showed no significant difference before and after test for IL-2 or IL-4 receptor in each group. Among the 13 cases of group 1 with good responses to AIT, the expressions of IL-2 receptor were 0.338±0.122，0.359±0.104 before and after test. And the expressions of IL-4 receptor were 0.485±0.092，0.471±0.084. There was also no significant difference. Conclusion Th2 model is not the mechanism of CIU. Re-balance between Th1 and Th2 is not the main mechanism of AIT to treat CIU.