PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - M. E. Scheicher
AU  - M. M. Teixeira
AU  - F. Q. Cunha
AU  - A. L. Teixeira, Jr
AU  - J. T. Filho
AU  - E. O. Vianna
TI  - Eotaxin-2 in sputum cell culture to evaluate asthma inflammation
AID  - 10.1183/09031936.00060205
DP  - 2007 Mar 01
TA  - European Respiratory Journal
PG  - 489--495
VI  - 29
IP  - 3
4099  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/29/3/489.short
4100  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/29/3/489.full
SO  - Eur Respir J2007 Mar 01; 29
AB  - The aim of the present study was to elucidate whether the culture of cells recovered from induced sputum may represent a suitable model to evaluate cytokine and chemokine production by airway inflammatory cells. Sputum induction was performed in 21 normal subjects and 30 asthmatic patients. A total of 21 out of the 30 asthmatic patients were taking inhaled corticosteroids, while the remaining nine were steroid-naive asthmatics. The steroid-naive group was evaluated before and after a 14-day treatment with oral prednisone (40 mg·day−1). The supernatant of lysed and centrifuged sputum and the supernatant of sputum cell culture were analysed. Tumour necrosis factor-α, interleukin (IL)-8 (CXCL8), IL-1β, IL-13 and eotaxin-2 (CCL24) concentrations were determined by specific ELISA. Eotaxin-2 production by cell culture was higher in the asthma group (131±108 pg·mL−1) than in the control group (36±41 pg·mL−1) and treatment with oral corticosteroids eliminated this difference. In addition, reduction of eotaxin-2 levels by corticosteroid treatment was greater in cell culture (81.3% reduction) than in sputum (26.4%). There was correlation between the decrease in eotaxin-2 production and the decrease in blood eosinophil number and between eotaxin-2 and eosinophils in sputum. Eotaxin-2 may play an important role in asthma and the response to corticosteroid treatment suggests that analysis of sputum cell culture is relevant as an inflammatory parameter.