SELECTED ARTICLES FROM THE RECENT LITERATURE 20086/16/2008
Endotoxin and Asthma Inflammation
Summary
High levels of endotoxin have been known to cause asthma symptoms. The authors wished to see whether endotoxin inhalation exacerbated the inflammatory response to allergen inhalation challenge. They evaluated 17 subjects with mild allergic asthma by segmental bronchial challenge with allergen, with endotoxin, and the combination of both. They found that the combination of allergen and endotoxin produced increased numbers of total cells, lymphocytes, neutrophils, eosinophils, monocytes, and myeloid dendritic cells in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid obtained 24 hours after challenge. In addition, they also found increased levels of IL-1 and IL-6, as well as TNF-alpha.They therefore concluded that endotoxin augments the response to allergen and interpreted these data as suggesting that this inflammatory response was the mechanism underlying the effect of endotoxin on asthma severity.
Reference
Schaumann F, et al. Endotoxin augments myeloid dendritic cell influx into the airways in patients with allergic asthma. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine 2008; 177:1307-1313.
