title: Soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) and interferon-gamma in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from children with airway diseases.
abstract: We have previously described that in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), eosinophils characterize asthma and neutrophils are more prominent in infantile wheeze. In this study, we hypothesized that intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) would have a role in promoting migration of both cell types into the airway. To investigate this, we measured soluble (s) ICAM-1 in 68 BALFs from infants and young children with various respiratory problems. Children with asthma were characterized by significantly raised sICAM compared with those with chronic cough without wheeze (p = 0.05) or control subjects with no lower airway pathology (p = 0.045). The levels correlated with disease severity (evaluated with a symptom score) and with lymphocyte numbers. IFN-gamma levels were also raised in children with asthma compared with those with chronic cough (p = 0.05), but there was no correlation with disease activity. Infantile wheeze was characterized by a linear correlation between sICAM-1 and IFN-gamma (r = 0.55; p = 0.002). sICAM-1 levels in infantile wheeze correlated with the severity of the disease and lymphocyte numbers. IFN-gamma levels were elevated in the wheezers treated with inhaled steroids compared with untreated infants (p = 0.03). Although sICAM-1 levels were increased in those with severe cough, no characteristic inflammatory profile was found in the group with chronic cough. Our study suggests that ICAM-1 and IFN-gamma play a role in the activity of the inflammatory process in asthma in childhood and possibly in some infant wheezers, in whom IFN-gamma may be one of the factors increasing the expression of ICAM-1. The role of IFN-gamma, a T helper-1 cytokine, in children with asthma remains to be fully understood.
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Respiratory Disease Unit, Hôpital Ch. Nicolle, Rouen, France.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Marguet
authors.forename: T P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Dean
authors.forename: J O
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Warner
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001249:Asthma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D001992:Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid / Q000276:immunology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004804:Eosinophils / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D018799:Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 / Q000032:analysis*; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000032:analysis*; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008172:Lung Diseases, Fungal / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000276:immunology; D018410:Pneumonia, Bacterial / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D012130:Respiratory Hypersensitivity / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D018799:Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1; D007371:Interferon-gamma