Elucidation of the pathophysiology of allergic rhinitis and development of novel therapeutic strategies

DOI IR Open Access
  • Kitamura Yoshiaki
    Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Tokushima University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Tokushima, Japan

Bibliographic Information

Other Title
  • アレルギー性鼻炎の病態解明と新規治療法の開発
Published
2025-06-27
Resource Type
journal article
DOI
  • 10.57444/shikokuactamedica.81.1.2_25
Publisher
Tokushima Medical Association

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Description

<p>　Allergic rhinitis （AR） is a type I allergic disease of the nasal mucosa, characterized by sneezing, watery rhinorrhea, and nasal congestion.　A recent epidemiological survey revealed that nearly half of the population develops AR in Japan. 　　Histamine is a major chemical mediator that induces AR symptoms by binding to histamine H1 receptor （H1R） during the development of AR.　We found that histamine-mediated stimulation of H1R induces upregulation of H1R gene expression through the activation of protein kinase Cδ, and that the elevated receptor expression levels in the nasal mucosa enhance histamine signaling, thereby exacerbating AR symptoms.　Antihistamines not only block histamine signaling through H1R but also suppress histamine-induced upregulation of H1R transcriptional activation. Moreover, they exert a suppressive effect on basal H1R transcription in the absence of histamine, which may be part of their inverse agonist action. 　　Recently, light-emitting diodes that emit energy at a wavelength of 310 nm, corresponding to narrowband-ultraviolet B （NB-UVB）, have been developed, and these devices are small enough to be used for intranasal phototherapy.　To develop a phototherapy using NB-UVB for the treatment of AR, we examined the effects of NB-UVB irradiation on H1R gene expression.　Our findings demonstrated that low-dose NB-UVB irradiation suppressed PMA-induced upregulation of H1R mRNA in a wavelength-specific, dose-dependent, and reversible manner, without inducing apoptosis.　We then conducted an in vivo study using a rat AR model.　Our findings demonstrated that intranasal pre-irradiation with NB-UVB dose-dependently suppressed upregulation of H1R mRNA in the nasal mucosa, leading to the alleviation of nasal symptoms without causing DNA damage.　These findings suggest that phototherapy with low-dose NB-UVB can be applied effectively and safely for the treatment of AR.　Since phase I and early phase II clinical trials confirmed its safety, we are currently conducting an investigator-initiated clinical trial in patients with pollinosis.</p>

Journal

  • SHIKOKU ACTA MEDICA

    SHIKOKU ACTA MEDICA 81 (1.2), 25-32, 2025-06-27

    Tokushima Medical Association

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