THE FEATURES OF MUCOSAL IMMUNITY AND MICROBIOTA AT DIFFERENT FORMS OF ALLERGIC RHINITIS
Aim. To assess the parameters of local immune response in patients with different forms of allergic rhinitis, associated with nasal bacterial infection. Methods. Nasal swabs and nasal epithelium samples obtained from 10 patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis aged 12 to 32 years and from 15 patients with persistent allergic rhinitis aged 18 to 45 years, as well as form the 20 healthy subjects aged 18 to 45 years without signs of allergy who were age and gender-comparable, were examined. Swabs were prepared from cell suspension, stained with 0.04% trypan blue solution, and a microscopy with the count of non-stained cells was performed. Epitheliocytes expressing toll-like receptors-2, were determined by flow cytometry. Interleukin-10 concentration in swabs was assessed by ELISA. Results. The number of epitheliocytes expressing toll-like receptors-2 was by 1.9 times lower in patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis and by 1.7 times lower in patients with persistent allergic rhinitis compared to control group. There was a reverse correlation found between the number of epitheliocytes expressing toll-like receptors-2 and interleukin-10 level in nasal swabs of healthy controls, while in patients with allergic rhinitis a it was a direct correlation. In patients with persistent allergic rhinitis S. aureus was a part of microbiota in 100% of cases and was associated with other bacteria (Str. pyogenes — 33.3%, Neisseria spp. — 66.7%). In patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis the association of S. aureus and S. hemolyticus (70.0%) was the most frequent one. In the control group, S. epidermidis (50.0%), Str. viridians (25.0%), S. hominis (25.0%) were among the nasal microbiota. There were no differences revealed between the mean levels of interleukin-10 in patients with allergic rhinitis and healthy controls. Conclusion. The number of epitheliocytes expressing toll-like receptors-2 was significantly reduced by almost 2 times in patients with persistent allergic rhinitis compared to control group. Colonization of nasal mucosa by S. aureus in patients with allergic rhinitis leads to an increase of epithelial cells expressing toll-like receptors-2.