title: Leukotriene C4 in children with atopic asthma. II. Plasma levels in bronchial challenge with specific allergen.
abstract: Peptide leukotrienes C4, D4 and E4 are considered to be major mediators of hypersensitivity reactions. In this study, immunoreactive leukotriene C4 (iLTC4) in plasma, taken from asthmatic children who had undergone bronchial challenge with a specific allergen, was measured using radioimmunoassay in order to determine whether LTC4 is released in vivo during human allergic reactions. With regard to the bronchial challenge of 10 asthmatic children, plasma iLTC4 levels at the post-challenge stage (0.131 +/- 0.037 pmol/ml) were significantly elevated compared to the pre-challenge stage (0.065 +/- 0.016 pmol/ml) (p less than 0.01). The bronchial response was not directly related to the increased plasma iLTC4 levels, but the strength of the bronchial response did relate to the plasma iLTC4 levels at the pre-challenge (p less than 0.05) and post-challenge (p less than 0.01) states. The pre-challenge levels are relevant to bronchial reactivity, and the post-challenge levels are relevant to bronchoconstriction caused by exposure to allergens. The in vivo release of LTC4 following exposure to a specific allergen suggests that leukotrienes are important in the pathogenesis of asthma.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Iwasaki
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001249:Asthma / Q000097:blood*; D001985:Bronchial Provocation Tests; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D013189:SRS-A / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D013189:SRS-A