C5a-induced in vitro basophil activation in patients with chronic urticaria: a pilot study

Targeted Therapy for Chronıc Spontaneous Urtıcarıa: Ratıonale and Recent Progress

Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is characterized by the presence of wheals, angioedema, or both for at least 6 weeks. It may persist for a long time-up to 50% of the patients have been reported to be symptomatic 5 years after the onset. Some patients can suffer more than one episode of CSU during their lifetime. Considering the recurrences, disabling symptoms, and significant impact on quality of life, proper and effective treatment of CSU is critical. The use of antihistamines (AHs) is still the mainstay of treatment. However, given the low rates of response to AHs (38.6% and 63.2% to standard doses and higher doses, respectively), the complete control of symptoms seems difficult to attain. The use of omalizumab for CSU has been a major breakthrough in the care of patients with CSU. However, the partial response and lack of response to omalizumab in a subgroup of patients, as high as 70% in some studies, make the development of alternative treatments desirable. Ever-increasing knowledge on the pathogenesis is making new target molecules available and enabling drug development for CSU. In addition to drug repurposing as in anti-IL-4/13, IL-5, and IL-17 antibodies, novel targeted therapy options such as ligelizumab and Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitors are currently undergoing clinical trials and will be available in the near future. This article reviews the current challenges in the treatment of CSU, the pathogenesis and potential target molecules, and the rationale for novel treatments and their rapidly developing status.

Basophils and allergic inflammation

Basophils were discovered by Paul Ehrlich in 1879 and represent the least abundant granulocyte population in mammals. The relative rarity of basophils and their phenotypic similarities with mast cells resulted in this cell lineage being historically overlooked, both clinically and experimentally. However, recent studies in human subjects and murine systems have shown that basophils perform nonredundant effector functions and significantly contribute to the development and progression of TH2 cytokine-mediated inflammation. Although the potential functions of murine and human basophils have provoked some controversy, recent genetic approaches indicate that basophils can migrate into lymphoid tissues and, in some circumstances, cooperate with other immune cells to promote optimal TH2 cytokine responses in vivo. This article provides a brief historical perspective on basophil-related research and discusses recent studies that have identified previously unappreciated molecules and pathways that regulate basophil development, activation, and function in the context of allergic inflammation. Furthermore, we highlight the unique effector functions of basophils and discuss their contributions to the development and pathogenesis of allergic inflammation in human disease. Finally, we discuss the therapeutic potential of targeting basophils in preventing or alleviating the development and progression of allergic inflammation.

Salivary levels of secretary IgA, C5a and alpha 1-antitrypsin in sulfur mustard exposed patients 20 years after the exposure, Sardasht-Iran Cohort Study (SICS)

Sulfur mustard (SM) is a strong toxic agent that causes acute and chronic health effects on a myriad of organs following exposure. Although the primary targets of inhaled mustard gas are the epithelia of the upper respiratory tract, the lower respiratory tract is the focus of the current study, and upper tract complications remain obscure. To our knowledge there is no study addressing the secretory IgA (S-IgA), C5a, alpha 1 antitrypsin (A1AT) in the saliva of SM-exposed victims. In this study, as many as 500 volunteers, including 372 SM-exposed cases and 128 control volunteers were recruited. A 3 ml sample of saliva was collected from each volunteer, and the level of secretory IgA, C5a, and alpha 1 antitrypsin in the samples were compared between the two groups. The SM-exposed group showed a significantly higher amount of salivary alpha 1 antitrypsin and secretary IgA compared to the control group (p<.006 and p<.018 respectively). The two groups showed no significant difference (p=0.192) in the level of C5a. The results also showed that the level of salivary A1AT is more than that of IgA in severely injured cases. The findings presented here provide valuable insight for both researchers and practitioners dealing with victims of the chemical warfare agent, sulfur mustard. This research indicates that certain branches of the inflammatory processes mandate serious attention in therapeutic interventions.

Add-on montelukast in antihistamine-resistant chronic idiopathic urticaria

BACKGROUND

Antihistamines (AH) alleviate pruritus and decrease the incidence of hives in patients with chronic idiopathic urticaria (CU). However, some patients do not respond completely to this therapy. We hypothesized that some of them might benefit from the addition of leukotriene receptor antagonists (LA).

METHODS

We screened patients diagnosed and treated for CU and selected those that had symptoms despite antihistamine treatment. In a double-blind crossover study, patients took the leukotriene antagonist montelukast (10 mg per day) or placebo. Efficacy was assessed by a symptom score.

RESULTS

In a group of 22 patients, the symptom score was not significantly different between periods using montelukast (48.8; 0-214) or placebo (68.5; 0-230). However in the subgroup of five patients with the most severe urticaria, defined as patients with symptom scores in the upper quartile at inclusion in the study, montelukast (41; 11 214) was superior to placebo (95.5; 48 230; p < 0.05), but only when using an in-house symptom score questionnaire and not when using a validated urticaria activity score questionnaire.

CONCLUSIONS

We showed that in patients with antihistamine-resistant CU the addition of montelukast significantly diminished symptoms in only a small minority of patients. However, response to add-on montelukast was seen in the subgroup of patients with particularly severe disease. To confirm this observation, a study with a larger group of patients is warranted.

COPD is not COPD is not allergy

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is still a poorly understood disease. Its pathogenesis is excitingly complex and has systemic consequences caused not only by increased production of certain cytokines but also by neurohumoral activation, chronic bacterial infection, muscle wasting and cachexia. Asthma and COPD have many overlapping clinical features so it should not be surprising that in the pathogenesis of COPD mediators such as leukotrienes, complement activation, atopic or even autoimmune processes are possibly involved. The pathogenesis of cardiovascular system involvement in COPD is also multifaceted and includes chronic heart hypoxia, damage by smoking and pulmonary hypertension; it must also be viewed as a consequence of systemic inflammation and neurohormonal activation. COPD is among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide and therefore it should be studied intensively beyond the lung itself. Treatments directed at neurohumoral activation in COPD have not been fully addressed; this aspect of COPD should be better understood, as it may direct novel therapeutic approaches.