title: Exhaled breath condensate cysteinyl leukotrienes and airway remodeling in childhood asthma: a pilot study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  It has been suggested that cysteinyl leukotrienes (cysLTs) play an important role in airway remodeling. Previous reports have indicated that cysLTs augment human airway smooth muscle cell proliferation. Recently, cysLTs have been measured in exhaled breath condensate (EBC). The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between cysLTs in EBC and another marker of airway remodeling, reticular basement membrane (RBM) thickening, in endobronchial biopsies in children.
  
  
  METHODS
  29 children, aged 4-15 years, with moderate to severe persistent asthma, who underwent bronchoscopy as part of their clinical assessment, were included. Subjects underwent spirometry and EBC collection for cysLTs analysis, followed by bronchoscopy and endobronchial biopsy within 24 hours.
  
  
  RESULTS
  EBC cysLTs were significantly lower in asthmatic children who were treated with montelukast than in those who were not (median (interquartile range) 36.62 (22.60-101.05) versus 249.1 (74.21-526.36) pg/ml, p = 0.004). There was a significant relationship between EBC cysLTs and RBM thickness in the subgroup of children who were not treated with montelukast (n = 13, r = 0.75, p = 0.003).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  EBC cysLTs appear to be associated with RBM thickening in asthma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatric Respiratory Medicine, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, Royal Brompton Hospital, National Heart and Lung Institute, London, UK. lex@med.uni-duesseldorf.de
authors.forename: Christiane
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lex
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zacharasiewicz
authors.forename: Donald N R
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Payne
authors.forename: Nicola M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: Andrew G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Nicholson
authors.forename: Sergei A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Kharitonov
authors.forename: Peter J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Barnes
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bush
mesh_terms: D000085:Acetates / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000293:Adolescent; D001249:Asthma / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology*; D001485:Basement Membrane / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology; D001980:Bronchi / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology* / Q000502:physiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003521:Cyclopropanes; D003545:Cysteine / Q000032:analysis* / Q000502:physiology; D045853:Exhalation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015289:Leukotrienes / Q000032:analysis* / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011804:Quinolines / Q000627:therapeutic use; D013440:Sulfides
chemical_list: D000085:Acetates; D003521:Cyclopropanes; D015289:Leukotrienes; D011804:Quinolines; D013440:Sulfides; C112381:cysteinyl-leukotriene; D003545:Cysteine; C093875:montelukast