PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Shinichi Takenaka
AU  - Haruki Imaoka
AU  - Masanobu Matsuoka
AU  - Yoichiro Kaku
AU  - Hanako Oda
AU  - Tomotaka Kawayama
AU  - Tomoaki Hoshino
TI  - Increased serum levels of soluble IL-18 receptor complex in allergic asthma
DP  - 2013 Sep 01
TA  - European Respiratory Journal
PG  - P849
VI  - 42
IP  - Suppl 57
4099  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/42/Suppl_57/P849.short
4100  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/42/Suppl_57/P849.full
SO  - Eur Respir J2013 Sep 01; 42
AB  - IntroductionIL-18 is known to play an important role in Th1/Tc1 polarization, and promoting the production of Th2 cytokines (e.g. IL-4, IL-5, IL-9, and IL-13) by T cells, NK cells, basophils, and mast cells. Recent studies have reported that IL-18 plays a key role in the pathogenesis of pulmonary inflammatory diseases including bronchial asthma, COPD, and lung fibrosis.AimWe reported that serum levels of IL-18 were significantly higher in the asthmatic subjects, when compared to either the non-asthmatic allergic subjects, or the healthy controls. However the roles of soluble IL-18 receptor complex (sIL-18R) in allergic asthma remain unclear. Therefore, in this study we measured serum levels of sIL-18R in patients with allergic asthma.MethodWe obtained sera from age-matched 19 allergic asthmatic subjects, 14 allergic non-asthmatic subjects, and 14 healthy controls. We measured serum levels of sIL-18R by using ELISA system.ResultThe serum levels of sIL-18R in allergic asthmatics (32.9±4.3 ng/ml) were significantly higher than those in non-asthmatic allergic subjects (18.8±1.5 ng/ml) and healthy controls (16.1±1.6 ng/ml). In the entire population, there was a significant correlation between serum sIL-18R levels and the levels of IgE.ConclusionsIL-18R may play an important role in the inflammatory process of allergic asthma.