[The significance of inflammatory markers in sputum of asthmatic and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases patients before and after glucocorticoid treatment].

OBJECTIVE

To study the change of cytokines and eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) level in the sputum before and after glucocorticoid (GC) inhalation treatment so as to comprehend their effect on asthmatic and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD) patients.

METHODS

A method to induce sputum with inhaled hypertonic saline was used. The level of interleukin (IL)-5, IL-8 and ECP was measured with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method.

RESULTS

The concentration of ECP decreased from (500.3 +/- 49.6) microg/L to (59.8 +/- 10.9) microg/L, the percentage of eosinophils (Eos) dropped from (11.6 +/- 1.7) x 10(-2) to (4.1 +/- 0.7) x 10(-2) and there is significant difference in the concentration of IL-5 in the group of asthmatic patients after GC treatment. However, the concentration of IL-5 in the COPD patients did not show significant change after the same therapy.

CONCLUSION

Respiratory tract inflammation in asthma is related to Eos activation and increase in ECP and IL-5 excretion, while respiratory tract inflammation in COPD is related to neutrophil increase. These changes can be considered as the indicator of airway inflammation in asthma or COPD. Through regulating the quantity and function of the inflammatory cells and inhibiting the formation of cytokines to control the asthmatic airway inflammation, GC inhalation treatment will have better effect in treating asthmatic patients than COPD patients.