Atopy and Hypersensitivity 18% Flashcards
What are 5 proposed mechanisms of action of allergen specific immunotherapy?
Effects can be “allergen specific” and “nonspecific”
1) Reduction in effector cell (mast cell, basophil, eosinophil) activity
2) Suppression of helper T-cell responses and long-term immunologic shift from a Th2 to a Th1-biased response
3) Increase in T-regulatory cells and in cytokines including TGF-beta and IL-10
4) Decrease in allergen-specific IgE by effector B-cells
5) Increase in in allergen-specific IgG
How is the immunologic response between SCIT and SLIT differ?
- Mucosal area under the tongue is a privileged immunologic site
- High concentration of dendritic cells and T-cells and low concentration of mast cells, basophils and eosinophils
- presence of oromucosal dendritic cells, which are very proficient at inducing tolerance.
What is the primary immunologic mechanisms behind urticaria and angioedema
Type I hypersensitivity involving degranulating mast cells and basophils as well as a type III hypersensitivity reaction
- Can be caused by vaccines, drugs, foods, stinging and biting insects
What are some non-immunologic causes of urticaria and angioedema?
- Pressure, sunlight, heat, cold, exercise, stress, various chemicals, activation of the coagulation cascade
- Thrombin is a serine protease that may play a key role in urticaria, inducing edema through an increase in vascular permeability, mast cell activation and degranulation and production of anaphylotoxin C5a.
Whats is the definition of a) atopic dermatitis and b) atopic-like dermatitis?
a) a genetically predisposed inflammatory and pruritic allergic skin disease with characteristic clinical features associated with IgE most commonly directed against environmental allergens
b) an inflammatory and pruritic skin disease with clinical features identical to those seen in canine atopic dermatitis in which an IgE response to environmental or other allergens can not be documented.
List 3 possible causes for diagnosing an animal with atopic-like dermatitis?
1) IgE’s may not be necessary for manifestation of the disease and an alternative mechanism of disease may lead to dermatitis that is clinically indistinguishable from classic AD
2) The wrong allergens were selected for the test
3) Cases may represent early cases of classic AD in which development of clinical signs precedes detection of allergen specific IgE
What is the hygiene hypothesis?
Decreased exposure to bacteria and parasites, in conjunction with increased practices of excessive bathing and use of antibacterial detergents that could harshly affect the barrier function of the skin, may be responsible for the increased occurrence of AD.
- There may be a protective effect of high indoor endotoxin exposure on the development of the condition.
What are the two loss of function mutations of filaggrin in humans that predispose to atopic dermatitis?
- R501x and 2282derL4
Whats it the biphasic pattern of cytokine release in
- acute skin lesions are characterized by CD4+ Th2 lymphocytes and eosinophils that release IL-4 and IL-13; these cytokines play an important role in the development of high levels of IgE and lead to increased survival and maturation of eosinophils
- Chronic lesions show a predominance of macrophages and associated with Th1 cytokines (IL-2, IL-12, IFN-gamma, IL-18)
What chemokine have been associated with atopic dermatitis?
- Chemokines are key regulators of selective leukocyte migration
- Increased expression of the following chemokines has been associated with AD:
1) RANTES (regulated on activation, normal T-cell expressed and secreted)
2) Eaton
3) Monocyte chemoattactant protein -4 (i.e. MCP-4)
4) Macrophage-derived chemokine (i.e. MDC); a ligand for CCR4
5) Thymus and activation regulated chemokine (TARC); a ligand for CCR4 - TARC levels correlated with disease severity in humans and considered a marker of disease
- Chemotaxis of cells expressing CCR4 is induced by TARC, resulting in selective migration of Th2 cells into lesional skin of human AD.
- TARC mRNA and the gene encoding for CCR4 are selectively expressed in lesional skin of atopic dogs but not in nonlesional atopic skin or normal skin.
What chemokine receptors do Th1 and Th2 cells predominately express?
Th1: CCR5, CXCR3
Th2: CCR3, CCR4, CCR8
What supports the percutaneous allergen activation of atopic disease in dogs?
- In clinically normal Atopic skin, there is an increased number of Langerhans cells
- There is increased expression of endothelial cell expression of ICAM-1 but not MHC II in atopic dogs
- There are increased number of T cells in lesional skin of atopic dogs with an increase in CD4:CD8 T cell ratio and increased numbers of alpha beta T cells
- In lesional skin from atopic dogs, there are relatively more CD8+ cells and gamma delta T cells than human atopics
What is the role of Staphylococcal super antigens in atopic dermatitis?
- The role of super antigens in epithelial presentation of allergen to Th2 cells
- Promotion of Th2 inflammation
- IgE production
- T-regulatory cell subversion
- Expansion and migration of skin-homing T cells
- Modulation of chemokines
- IgE anti-superantigen production
What are criteria for being considered a “probiotic”? What immunologic benefit may probiotics provide?
- ability to resist acid and bile
- ability to adhere to intestinal epithelial cells and persist in the digestive tract for long enough to produce antimicrobial agents and modulate immune responses
- Resist technological processing
- Improvemebt with AD severity and probiotic treatment may be associated with significant increases in the capacity for Th1 IFN-gamma responses and altered responses to skin and enteric flora
What breeds of dog are pre-disposed to developing canine atopic dermatitis?
- Beauceron
- Boston terrier
- Boxer
- Cairn terrier
- Chinese Shar-Pei
- Cocker spaniel
- Dalmation
- English bulldog
- English setter
- Fox terrier
- Irish setter
- Labrador retriever
- Labrit
- Lhasa apso
- Miniature schnauzer
- Pug
- Scottish terrier
- Seakyham terrier
- West highland white terrier
- Wire-haired fox terrier
- Yorkeshire terrier
What is the primary eruption of canine atopic dermatitis?
- Some have described there is no primary eruption, just pruritus; others have described macular erythema, plaques, and papules
- Erythema is the most commonly noted clinical sign
- Papules smaller than what is seen in pyoderma and contact allergy
What are Favrot’s nine criteria for diagnosing canine atopic dermatitis?
1) Age of onset <3 years old
2) Mostly indoors
3) Corticosteroid-responsive pruritus
4) Chronic or recurrent yeast infections
5) Affected front feet
6) Affected pinnae
7) Non-affected ear margins
8) Non-affected dorso-lumbar region
9) Pruritus with no visible lesions at onset
What is Euroglyphus maynei?
A species of house dust mite this is reported to be very common in houses in England
What is Blomia tropicalis?
it is a glyciphagig house dust mite found in tropical and subtropical climates; dominant house dust species in Brazil.
What are 8 factors that could lead to a false negative intradermal test result?
1) Subcutaneous injections
2) Too little allergen (testing with mixes, outdated allergens, allergens too dilute, too small volume injected)
3) Drug interference (glucocorticoids, antihistamines, tranquilizers, progestational compounds, any drugs that lower blood pressure)
4) Anergy (testing during peak of hypersensitivity reaction)
5) Inherent host factors (stress, estrus, pseudopregnancy)
6) Endoparasitism or ectoparasitism?
7) Off-season testing (testing more than 1 - 2 months after clinical signs have disappeared)
8) Histamine hyporeactivity
What are 8 causes that could lead to a false positive intradermal test result?
1) Irritant test allergens (especially those containing glycerin)
2) Contaminated test allergens (bacteria, fungi)
3) Skin-sensitizing antibody only (prior clinical or present subclinical sensitivity)
4) Poor technique (traumatic placement of needle)
5) Substances that cause nonimmunologic histamine release
6) Irritable skin
7) Dermatographism
8) Mitogenic allergen
How long should corticosteroids be withdrawn prior to allergy testing?
How long should antihistamines be withdrawn prior to intradermal allergy testing?
- 3 weeks for oral glucocorticoids
- 8 weeks for injectable glucocorticoids
- 2 weeks for topical glucocorticoids
- 14 days for antihistamines
What sedatives and anaesthetics do NOT affect intradermal skin test responses?
- Xylazine hydrochloride
- Medetomidine
- Tiletamine/zolazepam
- Thiamylal
- Halothane
- Isoflurane
- Methoxyflurane
What sedatives and anaesthetics can adversely affect skin test reactivity?
- Oxymorphone
- Ketamine/diazepam
- Acepromazine
- Propofol
What are the commonly tested concentrations for allergens?
- 1000 PNU/ml for pollens and molds
- 1/50,000 w/v for house dust mites
- 1000 PNU/ml for insects
- 250 - 500 PNU/ml for wool or feathers
- 1: 10,000 w/v histamine
What are 5 advantages of serologic ELISA testing over intradermal testing?
1) 2) 3) 4) 5)
What are 5 advantages of serologic ELISA testing over intradermal testing?
1) No patient risk (no need to sedate, no risk of anaphylactic reactions)
2) Convenience (no need to clip or chemically restrain)
3) Lower likelihood that results will be influenced by prior drug therapy
4) Ability to use in a patient with widespread dermatitis or dermatographism
5) Similar results of hyposensitization therapy in carefully clinically diagnosed atopic dogs
What are the histologic features of acute and chronic atopic dermatitis?
- Acute AD lesions: spongiotic dermatitis with eosinophilic exocytosis; superficial perivascular dermatitis with lymphocytic exocytosis; increased numbers of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells; increased numbers of epidermal langerhans cell counts
- Late phase responses: neutrophils and activated eosinophils; influx of alpha beta T lymphocytes and dermal dendritic cells observed in later stages
- Mononuclear cells increase significantly at 6 hours and are predominant cell type at 24 hours after allergen exposure
- Accumulation of CD1c+ dendritic cells noted in lesional atopic skin.
What are the histologic features of acute and chronic atopic dermatitis?
- Acute AD lesions: spongiotic dermatitis with eosinophilic exocytosis; superficial perivascular dermatitis with lymphocytic exocytosis; increased numbers of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells; increased numbers of epidermal langerhans cell counts
- Late phase responses: neutrophils and activated eosinophils; influx of alpha beta T lymphocytes and dermal dendritic cells observed in later stages
- Mononuclear cells increase significantly at 6 hours and are predominant cell type at 24 hours after allergen exposure
- Accumulation of CD1c+ dendritic cells noted in lesional atopic skin.
Threshold of pruritus
Presence of a multitude of stimuli (i.e. bacteria, yeast_ that might contribute to the level of itch of the individual patient
- any individual is able to tolerate some pruritic stimulus without becoming clinical; after threshold is exceeded, clinical manifestation of pruritus ensures.
- Pruritic threshold is variable among individuals and may be lowered by stress and environmental factors
Threshold of pruritus
Presence of a multitude of stimuli (i.e. bacteria, yeast_ that might contribute to the level of itch of the individual patient
- any individual is able to tolerate some pruritic stimulus without becoming clinical; after threshold is exceeded, clinical manifestation of pruritus ensures.
- Pruritic threshold is variable among individuals and may be lowered by stress and environmental factors
What are the three main grass families (which do not cross-react very well with one another)?
- Eragrostoideae (Bermuda grass)
- Festucoideae (common northern pasture grasses)
- Panicoideae (Johnson and Bahia)
What are the histologic features of feline allergic dermatitis?
- Infiltration of activated antigen-presenting cells and T lymphocytes in addition to increased numbers of dermal mast cells
- This pattern mimics the dermal inflammation that occurs in the chronic phase of canine and human AD
What sedatives are oftentimes used to perform intradermal skin tests in cats?
- Diazepam and ketamine
- Ketamine
- Zolazepam/Tiletamine
- General gas anesthetic
How are feline intradermal skin tests different than dogS?
- Feline skin is thin so you need to take extra care to ensure that the injections are intradermal and not subcutaneous.
- Test site should be examined as early as 5 minutes post infection because feline reactions sometimes occur and fade rapidly
- Reactions, including those to histamine, are often much subtler with less erythema and turgidity than those in dogs
- Without sedation, cats produce a marked increase in the concentration of plasma cortisol, corticotropin and alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone which may suppress wheal formation.
What are histologic features of feline atopic dermatitis?
- Infiltration of activated antigen-presenting cells and T lymphocytes in addition to increased numbers of dermal mast cells
- Clinically non-inflammatory alopecia: normal to slightly hyper plastic epidermis with mild superficial perivascular dermatitis where lymphocytes or mast cells predominate
- Inflammatory lesions: epidermal hyperplasia, spongiosis. serocellular crusts, erosions/ulcerations, variable degrees of superficial or deep perivascular dermatitis wherein eosinophils are usually the dominant inflammatory cell
Contact hypersensitivity
- a type IV hypersensitivity reaction
- Immunologic reactions to haptens (small, chemically reactive, lipid-soluble molecule)
- A cell-mediated response also referred to as hasten-type delayed hypersensitivity
- Epidermal langerhans cells play a key role in the sensitization phase which capture and process haptens and migrate the local draining lymph nodes and present the antigens in the paracortical region to T cells.
- Emigration from skin to lymph node may be initiated by TNF-alpha
Hapten sensitization induces which two populations of hasten-reactive T cells?
- CD8+ T cells producing IFN-Y which mediate the response
- CD4+ T cells producing IL-4 and IL-10 which function to limit the magnitude and the duration of the response