Assessment of the role of mucosal immunity in nasal polyposis recidivation was carried out. The density and the composition of inflammatory infiltrate in polyps from the patients with the primary and the recurrent nasal polyposis were researched. In nasal lavage the composition of the cells and the content of interleukin-4 and interferon-γ were estimated. It was shown that the polyposis recidivation occurs during the progression of local immune insufficiency.

The role of transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) in atopic dermatitis pathogenesis is discussed basing on the analysis of existing data of cellular and molecular mechanisms of allergic inflammation. Up-to date data of the main T-helper (T-h) lymphocyte subpopulations including Tx1, Tx2, Tx3 has been presented. Functions of regulatory T-cell populations and produced cytokines have been described. The main attention has been accented on the TGF-β structure and biological activity as a main Tx3 cytokine. The current information of TGF-β influence on different cell populations and its biological activity realization mechanism is thoroughly discussed. Information relating to the mechanism of cytokine regulation during atopic dermatitis has been summarized. A deep analysis of possible participation of TGF-β in disbalance formation on Tx1 and Tx2 levels, in disturbances of histological derma structure and allergic inflammation timing has been made.

Phenotypical and functional heterogeneity of immune regulating subpopulations of T-lymphocytes having suppressor activity is discussed in the article. Natural regulators and inducible regulating cells are characterized in more details.

The authors of the article are trying to generalize the literary data that characterizing proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines production of peripheral blood immune cells during tick-borne neuroinfections: Lyme borreliosis, associated with tick- borne encephalitis. The immune response development to antigens of a tick-borne encephalitis virus and Borrelia burgdorferi in pa- tients with a mixed-infection essentially differs from those during monoinfections.

Objective. Study of the chemotactic activity of macrophages and local production of cytokines in sterile skin inflammatory exudate in patients with generalized vitiligo (vitiligo vulgaris). Materials and methods. The authors conducted a study of 22 patients with generalized vitiligo and 22 healthy volunteers. The functional activity of macrophages was assessed with the use of the skin window method based on the method of D.N. Mayansky as amended by V.V. Klimov. The composition of sterile cell exudate was examined with the use of impression smears taken after 6 hours from an epidermis scarification section on the healthy and depigmented skin colored according to the Romanovsky-Gimza method with the use of light microscopy. In addition, cytokines were determined in the supernatant fluid of the skin window exudate from the vitiligo focus obtained by means of centrifugation. Results. The prevalence of mononuclear phagocytes over polymorphonuclear leukocytes was revealed in the depigmentation site, which confirms that macrophages take an active part in the disease pathogenesis (along with a high level of interleukin-18). A low level of IL-10 in the skin window exudate confirms that the suppressor effect in the melanocyte damage zone is weak. These results confirm the important role played by such cells of the immune system as phagocytes in vitiligo pathogenesis, which makes it possible to consider them as potential target cells for developing pathogenetically substantiated approaches to the treatment of the disease.