Lai C K, Ho S S, Chan C H, Leung R, Lai K N
Department of Medicine, Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Clin Exp Allergy. 1996 Feb;26(2):138-46. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2222.1996.tb00072.x.
Interleukin (IL)-3 and granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) may influence the inflammatory process in asthma through their regulatory role on eosinophil survival, differentiation and effector function.
To examine the relationships between IL-3 and GM-CSF messenger (m) ribonucleic acid (RNA) expression in peripheral blood CD4+ cells and serum levels of eosinophil cationic protein (ECP), a marker of eosinophil activation, and disease activity in asthma.
Venous blood was drawn from patients with acute severe asthma prior to the commencement of systemic steroid therapy (day 1) and 7 days afterwards (day 7), patients with stable disease and normal healthy volunteers. The capacity for expression of IL-3 and GM-CSF in ex vivo stimulated circulating CD4+ cells was assessed semi-quantitatively by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).
We found that the capacity for expression of IL-3 and GM-CSF was significantly higher in acute asthmatics prior to steroid treatment (n = 24) than those in stable disease (n = 38) and healthy subjects (n = 32, P < 0.001 for IL-3 and < 0.05 for GM-CSF), but no difference was observed between the latter two groups. Further assessment made in 15 of the 24 acute asthmatics 7 days after systemic steroid treatment revealed a significant reduction in GM-CSF expression (P < 0.05) but not for IL-3. At the same time, PEF also improved significantly from 30.4 +/- 3.5% of predicted value to 72.9 +/- 7.2% (P < 0.0001) and serum ECP concentration also fell from 19.9 +/- 5.9 micrograms/L to 4.3 +/- 2.0 micrograms/L (n = 10, P < 0.01).
Our data suggest both IL-3 and GM-CSF may be important in the pathogenesis of acute severe asthma.
白细胞介素（IL）-3和粒细胞巨噬细胞集落刺激因子（GM-CSF）可能通过对嗜酸性粒细胞存活、分化及效应器功能的调节作用影响哮喘的炎症过程。
探讨外周血CD4+细胞中IL-3和GM-CSF信使核糖核酸（mRNA）表达与嗜酸性粒细胞阳离子蛋白（ECP，嗜酸性粒细胞活化标志物）血清水平及哮喘疾病活动度之间的关系。
采集急性重度哮喘患者在开始全身类固醇治疗前（第1天）及治疗7天后（第7天）、病情稳定的患者及健康志愿者的静脉血。通过逆转录聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）半定量评估体外刺激的循环CD4+细胞中IL-3和GM-CSF的表达能力。
我们发现，类固醇治疗前的急性哮喘患者（n = 24）中IL-3和GM-CSF的表达能力显著高于病情稳定的患者（n = 38）和健康受试者（n = 32，IL-3 P < 0.001，GM-CSF P < 0.05），但后两组之间未观察到差异。对24例急性哮喘患者中的15例在全身类固醇治疗7天后进行的进一步评估显示，GM-CSF表达显著降低（P < 0.05），但IL-3未降低。同时，呼气峰流速（PEF）也从预测值的30.4 +/- 3.5%显著提高到72.9 +/- 7.2%（P < 0.0001），血清ECP浓度也从19.9 +/- 5.9微克/升降至4.3 +/- 2.0微克/升（n = 10，P < 0.01）。
我们的数据表明，IL-3和GM-CSF在急性重度哮喘的发病机制中可能都很重要。
