Katoh S, Matsumoto N, Matsumoto K, Fukushima K, Matsukura S
Third Department of Internal Medicine, Miyazaki Medical College, 5200 Kihara, Kiyotake, Miyazaki 889-1692, Japan.
Allergy. 2004 Aug;59(8):850-6. doi: 10.1111/j.1398-9995.2004.00492.x.
Interleukin (IL)-18 can induce Th2 cytokine production particularly in collaboration with IL-2. Accumulation of Th2 cells and increased levels of Th2 cytokines are found in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) from patients with eosinophilic pneumonia (EP). To evaluate the role of IL-18 in the pathogenesis of EP, we measured the concentration of IL-2, IL-12, IL-18, and Th2 cytokines in BALF from patients with EP.
The concentrations of interferon (IFN)-gamma, IL-2, IL-5, IL-10, IL-12, IL-13, and IL-18 in BALF were measured in patients with idiopathic acute eosinophilic pneumonia (AEP), with idiopathic chronic eosinophilic pneumonia (CEP), with sarcoidosis and healthy volunteers (HV).
The BALF concentrations of Th2 cytokines, IL-5, IL-10, and IL-13, were higher in patients with EP than in sarcoidosis and control. The IL-2 level in BALF was higher in EP than in sarcoidosis and control. The IL-18 and IL-12 (p40 + p70) levels were higher in patients with EP than sarcoidosis, while the level of IL-12 (p70) was below the detection limit in patients with EP. There was a significant correlation between IL-2 level and both IL-5 and IL-13 in BALF of patients with EP.
Our findings suggest that IL-18 may contribute to Th2 cytokine-dominant responses in patients with EP in collaboration with IL-2.
白细胞介素（IL）-18 尤其在与 IL-2 协同作用时可诱导 Th2 细胞因子的产生。在嗜酸性粒细胞性肺炎（EP）患者的支气管肺泡灌洗液（BALF）中发现 Th2 细胞积聚且 Th2 细胞因子水平升高。为评估 IL-18 在 EP 发病机制中的作用，我们测定了 EP 患者 BALF 中 IL-2、IL-12、IL-18 和 Th2 细胞因子的浓度。
测定了特发性急性嗜酸性粒细胞性肺炎（AEP）、特发性慢性嗜酸性粒细胞性肺炎（CEP）、结节病患者及健康志愿者（HV）BALF 中干扰素（IFN）-γ、IL-2、IL-5、IL-10、IL-12、IL-13 和 IL-18 的浓度。
EP 患者 BALF 中 Th2 细胞因子 IL-5、IL-10 和 IL-13 的浓度高于结节病患者和对照组。EP 患者 BALF 中的 IL-2 水平高于结节病患者和对照组。EP 患者的 IL-18 和 IL-12（p40 + p70）水平高于结节病患者，而 EP 患者的 IL-12（p70）水平低于检测限。EP 患者 BALF 中 IL-2 水平与 IL-5 和 IL-13 均显著相关。
我们的研究结果表明，IL-18 可能与 IL-2 协同作用，促使 EP 患者出现以 Th2 细胞因子为主导的反应。
