Serum IL-17 after one course of sublingual immunotherapy in allergic rhinitis to birch

Recently, it has been reported that IL-17 may be involved in allergic reaction. Sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) is the unique curative treatment for allergic rhinitis. This study aims at investigating whether one course of birch SLIT could affect serum IL-17 levels. The findings provided show that some IL-17 producer patients had a reduction of serum IL-17 levels after one SLIT course. Therefore, this preliminary study shows that a single pre-seasonal SLIT course may induce a significant decreasing trend in serum IL-17 levels; further study should be carried out to define the role exerted by IL-17 in allergic rhinitis.