title: Endothelin-1 in exhaled breath condensate of stable and unstable asthma patients.
abstract: Endothelins are proinflammatory, profibrotic, broncho- and vasoconstrictive peptides, which play an important role in the development of airway inflammation and remodeling in asthma. The study was undertaken to evaluate the endothelin-1 (ET-1) levels in exhaled breath condensate (EBC) of asthmatics with different degree in asthma severity. EBC was collected from 31 patients with allergic asthma (11 with steroid-naïve mild asthma, 10 with ICS-treated, stable mild-to-moderate asthma, 10 with ICS-treated unstable, severe asthma) and 7 healthy volunteers. In the three groups of asthmatics, ET-1 concentrations in EBC were significantly higher than in healthy volunteers. ET-1 levels were significantly higher in patients with unstable asthma than in the two groups with stable disease. There was a significant correlation between ET-1 levels and FENO in the three groups of asthmatics and between ET-1 and blood eosinophil counts in the group of patients with unstable asthma. Measurements of ET-1 in EBC may provide another useful diagnostic tool for detecting and monitoring inflammation in patients with asthma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Allergology and Internal Medicine, Medical University of Bialystok, Poland. z.zietkowski@wp.pl
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zietkowski
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Skiepko
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Tomasiak
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bodzenta-Lukaszyk
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001249:Asthma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D001944:Breath Tests / Q000379:methods; D016535:Bronchial Hyperreactivity / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D019332:Endothelin-1 / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018836:Inflammation Mediators / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D019332:Endothelin-1; D018836:Inflammation Mediators; D009569:Nitric Oxide