Asthma, Rhinitis, Other Respiratory DiseasesExhaled leukotrienes and prostaglandins in asthma☆,☆☆
Section snippets
Study subjects
Two groups of subjects were studied: 12 healthy nonsmokers and 15 patients with mild asthma who were nonsmokers (Table I)
FVC , ForcedEmpty Cell Healthy subjects Asthmatic patients No. 12 15 Age (y) 30 ± 3 34 ± 2 Sex (F/M) 7/5 8/7 Smoking No No FEV1 (L) 4.45 ± 0.27 3.56 ± 0.29 FVC (L) 4.62 ± 0.30 3.89 ± 0.24 FEV1 (% predicted) 93.7 ± 3.7 88.7 ± 3.9 FVC (% predicted) 97.4 ± 2.8 93.8 ± 3.1 Atopy No 12 PC20 (mg/mL) >8 1.6 ± 0.5† *Data are expressed as numbers or means ± SEM. †P < .01 compared with healthy subjects.
Results
LTE4-like immunoreactivity was increased in EBC in asthmatic patients (33.0 ± 3.8 pg; P < .0001; 95% confidence interval [CI], 24.9-41.0) compared with that in healthy subjects (13.0 ± 1.6 pg; 95% CI, 9.4-16.6; Fig 1, A ).
Discussion
In this study we have shown that LTE4-like immunoreactivity is increased in EBC in steroid-naive patients with mild asthma, who have about 3-fold higher levels than healthy subjects. Increased LTE4-like immunoreactivity levels in patients with asthma are consistent with a role for cysLTs in the pathophysiology of this disease. Most of the previous studies failed to show any increase in LTE4 levels in patients with mild asthma.10 However, LTE4 concentrations were generally measured in plasma or
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2017, Seminars in ImmunologyCitation Excerpt :Levels of 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO) and leukotriene A4 hydrolase (LTA4H) were increased in the airways and circulating neutrophils from patients with asthma [13,14]. Increased levels of LTB4 have been demonstrated in the blood, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid, and exhaled breath condensates from asthmatics [15–20]. In contrast to the cys-LTs, which are potent mediators of bronchoconstriction [21], LTB4 is a pro-inflammatory mediator with major activities on the recruitment, activation, and prolongation of survival of myeloid leukocytes, including neutrophils and eosinophils [22–25].
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Supported by the National Heart and Lung Institute.
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Reprint requests: Paolo Montuschi, MD, Department of Pharmacology, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, L.go F. Vito, 1, 00168 Rome, Italy.