Z. Yasruel et al., MEMBRANE-BOUND AND SOLUBLE ALPHA-IL-5 RECEPTOR MESSENGER-RNA IN THE BRONCHIAL-MUCOSA OF ATOPIC AND NONATOPIC ASTHMATICS, American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine, 155(4), 1997, pp. 1413-1418
Citations number
31
Categorie Soggetti
Emergency Medicine & Critical Care","Respiratory System
Eosinophilic inflammation and interleukin-5 (IL-5) expression are char
acteristic features of the bronchial mucosa in asthma. We have investi
gated the differential expression of membrane and soluble isoforms of
alpha IL-5 receptor (alpha IL-5Rm and alpha IL-5Rs) mRNA in asthmatics
and in normal control subjects and examined the correlation between a
lpha IL-5Rm and alpha IL-5Rs expression and the FEV(1) and airway hype
rresponsiveness. Nineteen subjects with stable asthma (atopic = 9; int
rinsic = 10) and 22 control subjects (atopic = 12; nonatopic = 10) wer
e recruited. Endobronchial biopsies were obtained and processed for in
situ hybridization and double-staining techniques. There was a signif
icant increase in the number of cells per millimeter basement membrane
expressing mRNA for total, membrane-bound, and soluble alpha IL-5R in
asthmatics when compared with that in nonasthmatic control subjects (
p < 0.001); 93% of the cells positive for alpha IL-5R mRNA were EG2+ve
eosinophils. There was no significant difference in the expression of
alpha IL-5Rm and alpha IL-5Rs between the atopic and nonatopic asthma
tics. The expression of alpha IL-5Rm and alpha IL-5Rs was also nonsign
ificantly different between the atopic and nonatopic control subjects.
However, in the asthmatic subjects, the number of positive cells expr
essing mRNA for alpha IL-5Rm inversely correlated with FEV(1) (r(2) =
0.89, p < 0.001), whereas the expression of alpha IL-5Rs mRNA directly
correlated with FEV(1) (r(2) = 0.52, p < 0.001). There were no signif
icant correlations between alpha IL-5R isoforms and the methacholine P
C20. These results suggest that alpha IL-5R upregulation and different
ial regulation of alternatively spliced alpha IL-5R mRNA transcripts m
ay influence the eosinophil response and the accompanying changes in a
irflow limitation in both atopic and nonatopic variants of chronic ast
hma.