Elevated substance P content in induced sputum from patients with asthma and patients with chronic bronchitis

M Tomaki, M Ichinose, M Miura, Y Hirayama… - American journal of …, 1995 - atsjournals.org
M Tomaki, M Ichinose, M Miura, Y Hirayama, H Yamauchi, N Nakajima, K Shirato
American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine, 1995atsjournals.org
In experimental studies, tachykinins, especially substance P (SP), cause many of the
pathophysiological features of neurogenic inflammation. It is unclear whether these peptides
are involved in human airway inflammation in diseases such as asthma and chronic
bronchitis. Toelucidate the relation between neurogenic inflammation and airway
inflammatory diseases, we examined the SP concentration in sputum after hypertonic saline
inhalation challenge in patients with asthma, patients with chronic bronchitis, and normal …
In experimental studies, tachykinins, especially substance P (SP), cause many of the pathophysiological features of neurogenic inflammation. It is unclear whether these peptides are involved in human airway inflammation in diseases such as asthma and chronic bronchitis. Toelucidate the relation between neurogenic inflammation and airway inflammatory diseases, we examined the SP concentration in sputum after hypertonic saline inhalation challenge in patients with asthma, patients with chronic bronchitis, and normal volunteers. SP concentration was measured by radioimmunoassay. The sputum SP concentration was significantly higher in patients with asthma (mean±SEM, 17.7±2.4 fmollml; p< 0.01) and patients with chronic bronchitis (25.6±5.5 fmol/ml; p< 0.01) than in normal volunteers (1.1±0.4 fmollml). In patients with asthma, the SP concentration was significantly related to the eosinophil cell count in induced sputum. In all subjects, the SP concentration in induced sputum correlated with FEV1/FVC. These data suggest that neurogenic inflammation may be involved in the airway inflammatory process and subsequent airway narrowing not only in asthma but also in chronic bronchitis. Tomaki M, Ichinose M, Miura M, Hirayama Y, Yamauchi H, Nakajima N, Shirato K. Elevated substance P content in induced sputum from patients with asthma and patients with chronic bronchitis. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 1995; 151: 613-7.
Asthma and chronic bronchitis are both considered chronic airway inflammatory diseases; there are some similarities in the morphology, cellular mechanisms, and clinical features of these two diseases (1, 2). Inflammatory cell-derived mediators and/or neural abnormalities are thought to be responsible for the pathogenesis of both diseases. Sensory nerve-mediated tachykinins, especially substance P (SP), have potent inflammatory actions in rodent's airways and are hypothesized to be contributing factors to bronchial asthma (3, 4). Tachykinins are released from sensory nerves not only by chemical mediators such as bradykinin (5) but also by cigarette smoke, and, presumably, exposure to air pollution containing sulfur dioxide. The latter factors are common contributors to chronic bronchitis (2). Thus, tachykinins may be important factors in the pathogenesis of both asthma and chronic bronchitis. Although the direct evidence is sparse, a previous report shows that airway SP immunoreactive nerve fibers are more abundant in patients with bronchial asthma than in nonasthmatic subjects (6).
ATS Journals