Novel exon 2A of the high-affinity receptor for the IgE alpha-chain gene (FCER1A) and autoimmunity in patients with asthma or urticaria. American College of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology

摘要

In some allergic patients, intradermal injection of autologous serum, thought to contain autoantibodies against high-affinity receptor for IgE (FceRI) alpha-subunit (FcsRIa) and/or against IgE, elicits a wheal-and-flare response.. Similar skin reactions were observed in aspirin-sensitive patients with urticaria, suggesting a possible role of FceRI in nonatopic forms of allergic diseases. In contrast to FceRI beta-subunit, the genetic variability of FceRIa is still poorly known, and only 2 reports on this topic have been published. Work by Nishiyama et al provided some new insights in the structure of the gene (FCER1A) encoding FcsRIa. (Herein, FcsRIa denotes the alpha-subunit of the high-affinity receptor for IgE and FCER1A the gene coding for that protein.) They located 2 novel FCER1A gene exons (1A, 2A) and an alternative pro-moter. To investigate if FCER1A genetic variability could play a role in autoimmune reactions of allergic patients with asthma or urticaria with or without aspirin sensitivity, we performed mutational screening in the region of the novel exon 2A.