Cytokine serum profiles in allergic and non-allergic asthma. Increased production of IL-10 by non-allergic asthmatic patients.
Studies were undertaken to determine whether differences in serum cytokine balances could be involved in the pathogenesis of allergic and in non-allergic asthma. At this propose, interferon-gamma, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-2, interleukin-4, interleukin-6, and interleukin-10 were measured by enzimoimmunoassay. The analysis was performed on 24 allergic and 24 non-allergic asthmatic patients and 16 healthy subjects. IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha, included into the type 1 cytokines, appeared significantly increased in the allergic with respect to the non-allergic asthmatic patients (p = 0.01) and (p < 0.001) respectively, while IL-10, which belongs to the type 2 cytokines, was significantly increased in the non-allergic asthmatic (p < 0.001). The IL-6 analysis did not show any significant difference in either of the study group. The most interesting finding was the high serum IL-10 values detected in intrinsic asthmatic patients, which in turn, suggests that this cytokine could participate in the regulation of different immunological features that occurs in non-allergic asthma, and maybe it could indicate a higher stimulated state of cells in this type of asthma. The data presented in this report show a different cytokine profile in serum from allergic and non-allergic asthmatic patients and denote a stronger prevalence of type 2 cytokines in intrinsic asthma.
Sánchez-Guerrero
I
I
Immunology Section, University Hospital Virgen de la Arrixaca, Murcia, Spain.
Vegara
R P
RP
Herrero
N
N
García-Alonso
A M
AM
Luna
A
A
Alvarez
M R
MR
D001249:Asthma / Q000097:blood* / Q000209:etiology; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D006969:Hypersensitivity, Immediate / Q000150:complications*; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000097:blood; D016753:Interleukin-10 / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000097:blood; D018417:Th1 Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D018418:Th2 Cells / Q000378:metabolism
D016207:Cytokines; D016753:Interleukin-10; D007371:Interferon-gamma