Polymeric immunoglobulin receptor may link asthma with increased risk of pneumococcal disease.

摘要

In a recent case-control study, Juhn et al1 identified history of asthma as a risk factor for serious pneumococcal disease with an odds ratio of 6.7 among adults. The authors did not explain possible causes of this association, and the editorial2 speculated that the increased colonization of nasal mucosa with Streptococcus pneumoniae in subjects with asthma and hypopharyngeal colonization as neonates3 may be related to a pre-existing defective immune response among persons destined to develop asthma. A much more likely explanation for both increased colonization with pneumococci and pneumococcal disease in patients with asthma is increase of the polymeric immunoglobulin receptor (plgR),4 the major receptor for the adhesin of Streptococcus pneumoniae, in patients with asthma.