Cytokine mRNA expression in asthma is not restricted to the large airways

Background: Although previous studies have established the presence of an eosinophil-rich cellular infiltrate in the small airways of asthmatic lungs, the expression of cytokines within the peripheral airways has been largely unexplored. The purpose of our study was to test the hypothesis that T H2-...

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Published in:	Journal of allergy and clinical immunology Vol. 101; no. 3; pp. 386 - 390
Main Authors:	Minshall, Eleanor M., Hodd, James C., Hamid, Qutayba A.
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	New York, NY Mosby, Inc 01-03-1998 Elsevier
Subjects:	AIDS/HIV Allergic diseases asthma Asthma - immunology Asthma - metabolism Biological and medical sciences Bronchi - metabolism Cytokines Cytokines - metabolism Humans Immunohistochemistry Immunopathology In Situ Hybridization inflammation Interferon-gamma - metabolism Interleukin-2 - metabolism Interleukin-4 - metabolism Interleukin-5 - metabolism Lung - metabolism lung resection lymphocytes Medical sciences Respiratory and ent allergic diseases RNA, Messenger - metabolism Th2 Cells - immunology Th2 Cells - metabolism lymphocytes Cytokines RNA asthma mRNA cRNA lung resection BAL IFN-γ T H1, T H2 inflammation Pi cDNA Bronchiole Human Messenger RNA Respiratory disease Immunological investigation Interleukin Cytokine Bronchus Interferon Obstructive pulmonary disease Gene expression Asthma
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Summary:	Background: Although previous studies have established the presence of an eosinophil-rich cellular infiltrate in the small airways of asthmatic lungs, the expression of cytokines within the peripheral airways has been largely unexplored. The purpose of our study was to test the hypothesis that T H2-type cytokines are increased in the peripheral airways and parenchyma of asthmatic lungs. Methods: The presence of messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) encoding both T-helper (T H1)-type (IL-2, interferon-γ) and T H2-type (IL-4, IL-5) cytokines in surgically resected lungs from six asthmatic and 10 nonasthmatic subjects was determined by in situ hybridization. Colocalization of IL-5 mRNA within the large and small airways was performed by simultaneous in situ hybridization and immunocytochemistry. Results: Expression of IL-5 mRNA-positive cells was significantly increased in the large and small airways and in the lung parenchyma of asthmatic subjects compared with nonasthmatic subjects. In the asthmatic individuals, the expression of IL-5 mRNA was increased in the small airways compared with the large airways. There was also an increase in the number of cells expressing IL-4 mRNA in the large and small asthmatic airways compared with the nonasthmatic airways. In contrast, the numbers of IL-2 and interferon-γ mRNA-positive cells did not differ between asthmatic and nonasthmatic individuals. Conclusions: We conclude that there is an increased expression of T H2-type cytokines within the peripheral airways of asthmatic lungs and suggest that the small airways contribute to the pathophysiology of asthma. (J Allergy Clin Immunol 1998;101:386-90.)
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-1 content type line 23 ObjectType-Article-1 ObjectType-Feature-2
ISSN:	0091-6749 1097-6825
DOI:	10.1016/S0091-6749(98)70252-0