Abstract
Using [3H]dihydroalprenolol (DHA) and [3H]dihydroergocryptine (DHE), that is specific radioligands for the measurement of beta- and alpha-adrenoceptors, respectively, binding studies were performed on membranes of lymphocytes from patients with atopic dermatitis, patients with non?atopic skin diseases, and normal individuals. A shift in the numbers of receptors from beta- to alpha was found in the lymphocytic membranes from patients with atopic dermatitis but not in the other 2 groups. That this shift cannot be due to possible variations in the proportion of lymphocyte subpopulations was demonstrated by the lack of difference in alpha and beta?receptor numbers between B and T lymphocytes, indicating that the adrenoceptor shift is intrinsic to the disease-state itself. Taken together with similar findings in lung tissue and lymphocytes from patients with reversible obstructive airways disease (asthma) the observations suggest that the constitutional basis of atopy may lie in an inherited or acquired adrenergic abnormality causcd by a shift in available receptor numbers from beta- to alpha-adrenoceptors.
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