Exhaled breath condensate cysteinyl leukotrienes and airway remodeling in childhood asthma: a pilot study.
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.
Lex
Christiane
C
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
Zacharasiewicz
Angela
A
Payne
Donald N R
DN
Wilson
Nicola M
NM
Nicholson
Andrew G
AG
Kharitonov
Sergei A
SA
Barnes
Peter J
PJ
Bush
Andrew
A
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
D000085:Acetates; D003521:Cyclopropanes; D015289:Leukotrienes; D011804:Quinolines; D013440:Sulfides; C112381:cysteinyl-leukotriene; D003545:Cysteine; C093875:montelukast