Association of haptoglobin phenotypes with serum levels of IgE and IgA in allergic rhinitis patients.

BACKGROUND Allergic rhinitis (AR) is an allergic disorder of the nasal tissue that underlies diseases such as sinusitis, otits and asthma. Different predisposing factors including immunological and non-immunological factors contribute to the disease pathogenesis. OBJECTIVE To investigate association of haptoglobin (Hp) phenotypes (Hp1-1, 2-1 and 2-2) with serum immunoglobulins A and E levels in patients suffering from AR in comparison with healthy individuals. METHODS Two hundred and forty patients and 240 healthy individual entered in this case-control study. Serum levels of IgE and IgA were measured and haptoglobulin phenotypes were determined by electrophoresis. The results were evaluated by χ2 statistical test using SPSS software. RESULTS Serum electrophoresis showed that the distribution of haptoglobin phenotypes of Hp1-1, Hp2-1 and Hp2-2 among 240 patients were 11.3%, 37.9% and 50.8%, respectively. The distribution of different haptoglobin phenotypes in healthy controls were 88.7%, 36.6% and 54.7%, respectively. However, the difference between patients and controls was not statistically significant (p=0.136). The mean of IgE level was significantly higher in patients than controls in association with all three phenotypes (p<0.001). Mean of IgA serum level was also significantly different between case and control groups for Hp1-1 (p<0.048) and Hp2-2 phenotypes (p<0.027). CONCLUSION We conclude that there is an association of all three haptoglobin phenotypes with IgE level. Hp1-1 and Hp2-2 phenotypes showed association with IgA in allergic rhinitis, as well. However, we cannot solely attribute these associations to the pathogenesis of allergic rhinitis.