Photo Credit: Hank Grebe
The following is a summary of “Nasal and blood transcriptomic pathways underpinning the clinical response to grass pollen immunotherapy,” published in the November 2023 issue of Allergy & Immunology by Altman, et al.
Response in Allergic Rhinitis to Sublingual and Subcutaneous Immunotherapy trial explored AIT responses in timothy grass-allergic individuals over two years. For a study, researchers sought to identify molecular mechanisms of AIT response using longitudinal transcriptomic profiling of nasal brush and peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) samples during allergen provocation.
Participants (placebo, n=30; subcutaneous immunotherapy [SCIT], n=27; sublingual immunotherapy [SLIT], n=27) were followed for an additional year. Transcriptomic analyses focused on nasal and PBMC samples, revealing expression pathways associated with AIT responsiveness.
SCIT and SLIT induced similar gene module expression changes over time. Nasal samples exhibited downregulation of mucus hypersecretion (log2 fold changes −0.133 to −0.640, false discovery rates [FDRs] <0.05), leukocyte migration/activation, and endoplasmic reticulum stress pathways. Upregulation was observed in modules related to epithelial development, junction formation, and lipid metabolism (log2 fold changes 0.104 to 0.393, FDRs <0.05). PBMCs showed reductions in modules related to cellular stress response and type 2 cytokine signaling (log2 fold changes −0.611 to −0.828, FDRs <0.05). Module expression correlated significantly with Total Nasal Symptom Score and peak nasal inspiratory flow.
The study identified specific molecular responses in the nasal airway affected by both SCIT and SLIT, offering potential targets for novel AIT strategies.
Source: jacionline.org/article/S0091-6749(23)00890-4/fulltext
