Inflammatory Responses in Normal Volunteers and Patients With Abnormal Immune Responses

Study Summary

This study will investigate the inflammatory response. People with abnormal regulation of inflammation and immune defects often have an exaggerated or depressed inflammatory response that results in poor healing of recurrent infections. This study will measure and compare amounts of inflammatory mediators (chemicals involved in the inflammatory response) in healthy normal volunteers and in patients with abnormal immune responses. Healthy normal volunteers and patients with host defense defects or excessive inflammation, as in vasculitis syndromes, may be eligible for this study. Patients must be between 6 and 65 years of age. Participants will have eight small blisters raised on the forearm using a gentle suction device. The top of the blisters will be removed with scissors and a plastic template will be placed over the blisters. The wells of the template will be filled with a salt solution or a mixture of the subject s serum (fluid part of the blood without cells) and a salt solution. Some blisters may be covered with coverslips a small round piece of very thin sterilized glass before adding the fluid. Blister fluid will be removed from the wells at 3, 5, 8, and 24 hours with a syringe and analyzed for inflammatory mediators. A scab will form over the blisters and fall off in about 2 weeks. Participants will have about 4 tablespoons of blood drawn in order to compare the inflammatory mediators in the blood with those in the blister fluid.