Serum MicroRNAs 223 and 146a in Allergic Rhinitis Patients: Correlation With Disease Severity and Their Role as Biomarkers for Efficacy of Sublingual Immunotherapy

Over the last decades the prevalence of allergic disease has steadily been rising and recent figures indicate that in the western world 10-25% of people are affected with allergic diseases ranging from food allergy, atopic dermatitis/ eczema, allergic rhinitis, hay fever to asthma.

Allergic rhinitis (AR) is the most frequent allergic disease in Western Europe that interferes with school attendance and performance, with a prevalence rate of 20-30%. Very few studies of the epidemiology were done about the prevalence of allergic rhinitis in Egypt as its prevalence was 9 %.

Allergic rhinitis is allergen-specific IgE-mediated inflammatory reactions which is characterized by excessive eosinophil infiltration, Th2 cytokine responses such as IL5, IL4, IL13, and mucus secretion. The prevalence of allergic rhinitis is increasing worldwide due to changes in the socioeconomic status, environmental factor, and occupational factor. AR burden on sleep and learning is substantial in children. Moreover, AR is considered a risk factor for subsequent asthma comorbidity.

Allergic rhinitis is characterized by nasal congestion, itching, rhinorrhea, and sneezing, which are manifested as a consequence of inappropriate immune responses mediated by allergen specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies toward otherwise harmless antigens such as pollen and house dust mite (HDM).

High-sensitivity-C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) is a well-known systemic inflammatory marker that is easy and inexpensive to measure, together with ESR, serum Ig-E and total eosinophil count are measured as laboratory markers of allergic diseases.