Lee Sook Young, Kwon Soon, Kim Kwan Hyoung, Moon Hwa Sik, Song Jung Sup, Park Sung Hak, Kim Young Kyoon
Department of Internal Medicine, Kangnam St Mary's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2006 Dec;97(6):794-9. doi: 10.1016/S1081-1206(10)60971-4.
Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a potent proangiogenic cytokine, and it also increases vascular permeability. It is well known that VEGF levels are increased in the airway of asthmatic patients. Hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) induces a rapid and strong increase in VEGF expression.
To evaluate the relationship between VEGF level and clinical characteristics and to determine whether VEGF expression is associated with HIF expression in asthmatic patients.
Bronchoscopy was performed on 30 asthmatic patients and 14 control subjects. The concentration of VEGF in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) was examined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. We measured VEGF, HIF-1alpha, and HIF-2alpha expression on biopsy specimens by means of immunoreactivity.
The VEGF level in the BALF was significantly higher in asthmatic patients than in controls. The VEGF level correlated with eosinophil counts in the BALF in asthmatic subjects (r = 0.501; P < .01). However, the VEGF level did not correlate with percentage of forced expiratory volume in 1 second and airway hyperresponsiveness. Asthmatic patients exhibited higher VEGF, HIF-1alpha, and HIF-2alpha immunoreactivity in the submucosa than did controls. Furthermore, VEGF expression correlated significantly with HIF-1alpha (r = 0.614; P = .02) and HIF-2alpha (r = 0.881; P = .001) expression.
These findings suggest that VEGF may play an important role in inflammation and that VEGF level is related to HIF in bronchial asthma.
血管内皮生长因子（VEGF）是一种强效的促血管生成细胞因子，它还可增加血管通透性。众所周知，哮喘患者气道中的VEGF水平会升高。缺氧诱导因子（HIF）可诱导VEGF表达迅速且显著增加。
评估VEGF水平与临床特征之间的关系，并确定哮喘患者中VEGF表达是否与HIF表达相关。
对30例哮喘患者和14例对照者进行支气管镜检查。采用酶联免疫吸附测定法检测支气管肺泡灌洗液（BALF）中VEGF的浓度。我们通过免疫反应性检测活检标本上VEGF、HIF-1α和HIF-2α的表达。
哮喘患者BALF中的VEGF水平显著高于对照组。哮喘患者BALF中的VEGF水平与嗜酸性粒细胞计数相关（r = 0.501；P <.01）。然而，VEGF水平与第1秒用力呼气量百分比和气道高反应性无关。哮喘患者黏膜下层的VEGF、HIF-1α和HIF-2α免疫反应性高于对照组。此外，VEGF表达与HIF-1α（r = 0.614；P =.02）和HIF-2α（r = 0.881；P =.001）表达显著相关。
这些发现表明VEGF可能在炎症中起重要作用，且在支气管哮喘中VEGF水平与HIF有关。
