Parental tobacco smoking is associated with augmented IL-13 secretion in children with allergic asthma.
BACKGROUND
Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) has been shown to increase symptoms of allergic bronchial asthma, but direct effects on the expression of inflammatory markers have not been demonstrated thus far.


OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to assess the correlation of ETS exposure with the expression of proinflammatory mediators in airway secretions, including IFN-gamma and IL-12, as well as IL-5 and IL-13, in allergic asthmatic schoolchildren and healthy control subjects.


METHODS
By using the nasopharyngeal aspiration technique, airway secretions were collected from 24 atopic children with asthma (age, 6-16 years) and 26 healthy control subjects, and the concentration of cytokines was measured with immunoenzymatic methods.


RESULTS
IL-13 levels were highly increased in patients with asthma (P < .005), and parental tobacco smoke resulted in a significant increase in airway IL-13 secretion in these children compared with that seen in nonexposed children and healthy control subjects (median, 860 pg/mL vs 242 pg/mL and 125 pg/mL, respectively). Furthermore, a positive correlation between IL-13 levels and serum IgE concentrations (r(s) = 0.55) was found in children with allergic asthma.


CONCLUSIONS
These results indicate that ETS augments the expression and secretion of IL-13 in allergic asthma and that nasopharyngeal aspiration is a suitable method to assess cytokine measurements in airways in children. Measurements of IL-13 in secretions might be taken into account as a noninvasive marker of airway inflammation and to assess the detrimental effects of ETS.
Feleszko
Wojciech
W
Department of Pediatric Pneumonology and Allergy, The Medical University Children's Hospital, ul Działdowska 1/3, PL-01-184 Warsaw, Poland. wfeleszko@kliniczny.pl
Zawadzka-Krajewska
Anna
A
Matysiak
Katarzyna
K
Lewandowska
Dorota
D
Peradzyńska
Joanna
J
Dinh
Q Thai
QT
Hamelmann
Eckard
E
Groneberg
David A
DA
Kulus
Marek
M
D000293:Adolescent; D001249:Asthma / Q000276:immunology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000097:blood; D007223:Infant; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000378:metabolism; D018793:Interleukin-13 / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution
D018793:Interleukin-13; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution; D007073:Immunoglobulin E; D007371:Interferon-gamma