title: Arachidonic acid metabolites and their circadian rhythm in patients with allergic bronchial asthma.
abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate circadian variation in concentrations of arachidonic acid (AA) metabolites in relation to the circadian pattern in bronchial patency. Blood samples were obtained at 4-hr intervals from 2000 of 1 day until 1400 of the next from 12 diurnally active asthmatic and six diurnally active non-asthmatic patients. Bloods were analyzed for the prostanoids thromboxane A2 (measured as stable metabolite 6-keto-PGF1a), PGE2 and PGF2a. Airways patency was assessed by self-measurement of peak expiratory flow (PEF). In asthmatics, circadian variation was detected in PEF as well as PGE2 and TXB2. The circadian trough of the PEF rhythm closely coincided with the circadian peak of the PGE2 and TXB2 rhythms. In the controls, the PEF was not circadian rhythmic. Of the AA metabolites only 6-keto-PGF1a exhibited 24-hr bioperiodicity in the controls. The controls exhibited a significantly higher circadian mean of PEF (P less than 0.001), while the asthmatics had a lower 24-hr average PGE2 but greater mean TXB2/PGE2 ratio. The obstructive effect caused by the overall 24-hr deficiency of PGE2 in asthmatics is possibly amplified by the increased of TXB2 during the early morning hours. This dissociation of the temporal patterns in TXB2 and PGE2 levels over the 24 hr is discussed as a characteristic finding for asthmatics.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Immunology, Klinikum Steglitz, Free University of Berlin, F.R.G.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kunkel
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nigam
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Herold
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jusuf
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Albright
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001095:Arachidonic Acids / Q000097:blood*; D001249:Asthma / Q000097:blood* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D015237:Dinoprost / Q000097:blood; D015232:Dinoprostone / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010366:Peak Expiratory Flow Rate; D011460:Prostaglandins F / Q000097:blood; D012016:Reference Values; D013929:Thromboxane B2 / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D001095:Arachidonic Acids; D011460:Prostaglandins F; D013929:Thromboxane B2; D015237:Dinoprost; D015232:Dinoprostone; C100006:prostaglandin F1