Allergic Rhinitis Essay

Allergic rhinitis is a common condition that causes symptoms such as sneezing, stuffy nose, runny nose, watery eyes, itching of the eyes or the roof of the mouth. It affects 30 to 40% of the people living in the United States and rising. It is usually caused by pollens from plants, especially in the spring time when flowers are in full bloom. Pollen contains allergens which, by definition, are proteins that can trigger Th2 responses which produce high levels of IgE, also known as hypersensitivity, making the body think the foreign substance is dangerous when it’s harmless (1).
Dendritic Cells
The body’s first line of defense is the epithelium. In order for the body to display hypersensitivity after inhaling pollens, pollens need to penetrate the airway epithelium first. Pollens have cysteine and serine proteases to do this by disrupting tight junctions (1,2). They get taken up by dendritic cells (DCs) which are important antigen presenting cells that detect foreign substances and help in activating innate and adaptive immune responses against these substances leading to the release of inflammatory cells like eosinophils, neutrophils, and macrophages, which are the cells responsible for the nasty symptoms that come with allergy.
Pollens
ROS can produce a large range of cellular damage and induce oxidative stress independent of the consequences of adaptive immunity. The byproducts generated by oxidative stress, such as GSSG and 4-HNE, further increase airway inflammation caused by other pollen antigens (5-7). NADPH oxidase also increases IgE production leading to further inflammatory responses. People who are deficient in antioxidants are more prone to the effects of NADPH oxidase. Pollen NADPH oxidase inhibitors may prevent or at least lessen airway inflammation to a great