Carpagnano Giovanna E, Barnes Peter J, Geddes Duncan M, Hodson Margaret E, Kharitonov Sergei A
Department of Thoracic Medicine, National Heart and Lung Institute, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, United Kingdom.
Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2003 Apr 15;167(8):1109-12. doi: 10.1164/rccm.200203-179OC.
Chronic neutrophilic airway inflammation is an important feature of cystic fibrosis (CF). Noninvasive inflammatory markers may be useful in monitoring CF. Leukotriene B4 (LTB4) and interleukin (IL)-6 are inflammatory mediators that are increased in chronic neutrophilic inflammation. The aim of this study was to assess whether LTB4 and IL-6 were increased in exhaled breath condensate of CF patients and whether they could be used to monitor inflammation. Twenty patients with CF (13 males, age of 28 +/- 9 years) were recruited together with 15 age-matched healthy subjects (8 males, age 35 +/- 7 years). LTB4 and IL-6 levels were markedly elevated in patients with acute exacerbations (28.8 +/- 4.3 and 8.7 +/- 0.4 pg/ml) compared with control subjects (6.8 +/- 0.7 and 2.6 +/- 0.1 pg/ml, p < 0.0001). We also observed a decrease of exhaled LTB4 and IL-6 concentrations after antibiotic treatment in six patients who were followed until clinically stable (31.1 +/- 4.4 and 9.5 +/- 0.4 pg/ml vs. 18.8 +/- 0.8 and 6.4 +/- 0.2 pg/ml, respectively) and an increase in 15 CF patients infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa (34.3 +/- 5.0 and 9.3 +/- 0.3 pg/m) compared with those infected with other bacteria (18.3 +/- 0.7 and 6.9 +/- 0.5 pg/ml). These findings suggest that LTB4 and IL-6 levels are increased in exhaled breath condensate of patients with CF during exacerbation and could be used to monitor airway inflammation in these patients.
慢性嗜中性气道炎症是囊性纤维化（CF）的一个重要特征。非侵入性炎症标志物可能有助于监测CF。白三烯B4（LTB4）和白细胞介素（IL）-6是在慢性嗜中性炎症中升高的炎症介质。本研究的目的是评估CF患者呼出气体冷凝物中LTB4和IL-6是否升高，以及它们是否可用于监测炎症。招募了20例CF患者（13例男性，年龄28±9岁）以及15名年龄匹配的健康受试者（8例男性，年龄35±7岁）。与对照组受试者（6.8±0.7和2.6±0.1 pg/ml，p<0.0001）相比，急性加重期患者的LTB4和IL-6水平显著升高（28.8±4.3和8.7±0.4 pg/ml）。我们还观察到，在随访至临床稳定的6例患者中，抗生素治疗后呼出的LTB4和IL-6浓度降低（分别为31.1±4.4和9.5±0.4 pg/ml与18.8±0.8和6.4±0.2 pg/ml），而15例感染铜绿假单胞菌的CF患者与感染其他细菌的患者相比（18.3±0.7和6.9±0.5 pg/ml）LTB4和IL-6水平升高（34.3±5.0和9.3±0.3 pg/m）。这些发现表明，CF患者急性加重期呼出气体冷凝物中LTB4和IL-6水平升高，可用于监测这些患者的气道炎症。
