Peculiarities of the cytokine profile of induced sputum in asthma patients under cold exposure

Cytokines play an important role in the organization of chronic inflammation in the airways of patients with asthma. The purpose of this study was to conduct a comparative analysis of IL-1b, IL-5, IL-8, IL-10, IL-13, IL-18 and TNFa cytokines levels in induced sputum of patients with asthma and chronic bronchitis (CB), to clarify their relationship with airway hyperresponsiveness and to determine their dynamics in response to cold exposure. The study enrolled 46 patients with mild to moderate asthma and 18 patients with CB. Cold airway hyperresponsiveness (CAH) was detected spiro-metrically by 10% or more decrease in FEV₁ after the test with 3-minute isocapnic cold air hyperventilation (ICAH). Induced sputum was collected and processed by the standard method twice - before and after the test with ICAH. Cytokines concentrations were determined by multiplex analysis on BD FACSCanto II flow cytometer. We found no significant differences in the cytokines levels between patients with asthma and CB. Among patients with asthma, the presence of CAH was associated with a higher initial concentration of IL-10 (7.1 (4.7; 8.7) pg/ml vs. 5.1 (2.9; 7.9) pg/ml, p=0.06). In addition, IL-10 adversely affected the spirometric indices of the airway patency (FEV₁ R=-0.44, p=0.002) and the airway response to bronchodilator (ΔFEV₁ R=0.52, p<0.001). There was an increase in the levels of all cytokines in response to ICAH in patients with asthma, while in CB their concentrations rather decreased. Significant differences were found in the dynamics of IL-5 concentrations in response to ICAH between asthma and CB patients (31.2 (-21.7; 83.5)% vs. -29.9 (-50.5; 16.8)%, p=0.02). Thus, the cold exposure indeed provokes an inflammatory response in the airways of the majority of asthma patients, however its pattern is heterogeneous. The mechanism of the observed effect of IL-10 on the airway reactivity requires further investigation.

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