Serum interleukin-5 measurements for monitoring acute asthma in children.
Cytokine-mediated interactions among the inflammatory cells may play a role in the pathogenesis of bronchial asthma. Interleukin-5 (IL-5) is a major cytokine in the recruitment of neutrophils to the area of inflammation. Serum IL-5 is a marker of disease activity and treatment efficacy in bronchial asthma. To understand the role of IL-5 in disease activity in acute asthma, changes in serum concentrations of IL-5 elaborated by activated eosinophil before and after prednisolone therapy with clinical improvement were determined in the present study. Circulating levels of IL-5 in 16 normal control subjects and in sera from 22 allergic asthmatic children with acute exacerbation and in stable condition were determined by using commercially available assay kits. The mean concentration of serum IL-5 was higher in patients with acute exacerbation (6.30 +/- 2.21 pg/mL) and in stable asthmatics (5.55 +/- 2.23 pg/mL) compared to control group subjects (4.81 +/- 0.54 pg/mL; p > 0.05). However, the difference was not statistically significant between the acute exacerbation and stable asthmatics groups (p > 0.05). Serum IL-5 is a poor indicator of disease activity in acute asthma; therefore, monitoring serum IL-5 concentration is of limited value. The clinical value of serum IL-5 as a marker of disease activity remains to be established.
Huang
Chen-Shen
CS
Department of Pediatrics, Taipei Veterans General Hospital and National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China.
Chen
Shu-Jen
SJ
Chung
Ruey-Lung
RL
Tang
Ren-Bin
RB
D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D001249:Asthma / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015848:Interleukin-5 / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011239:Prednisolone / Q000494:pharmacology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D015415:Biomarkers; D015848:Interleukin-5; D011239:Prednisolone