Context: Asthma is the most frequent chronic disease in childhood. Allergic rhinitis has been described as a risk factor to develop asthma. The objective of the study was to evaluate the contribution of the respiratory epithelium to development of allergic rhinitis and asthma and to identify the molecular mechanisms driving rhinitis toward asthma.
Methods: Using a human pangenomic microarray, we established expression profiles of nasal epithelial cells, collected by brushing of patients belonging to one of four distinct children 2 to 18 years of age groups:
1. allergic rhinitis to dust mite (AR) isolated (n=12),
2. AR associated with bronchial hyperreactivity (n=12),
3. AR associated with asthma (n=14),
4. control (n=14).
