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Inflammatory mediators in blood and urine
1Department of Pediatrics, Göteborg University, The Queen Silvia Children's Hospital, Göteborg, Sweden. goran.wennergren@pediat.gu.se
Paediatric Respiratory Reviews
|January 18, 2003
Summary
Monitoring asthma inflammation may involve measuring eosinophil granule proteins or leukotriene E4. While urinary eosinophil-derived protein X (EPX) avoids blood draws, its clinical use is limited. Leukotriene E4 (LTE4) may offer better lung function correlation.
Area of Science:
- Pulmonary Medicine
- Allergy and Immunology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Airway inflammation is central to asthma pathophysiology.
- Assessing inflammatory mediators is crucial for asthma monitoring and management.
- Eosinophil granule proteins and leukotrienes are key mediators in allergic airway inflammation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the utility of urinary eosinophil-derived protein X (EPX) and urinary leukotriene E4 (LTE4) as biomarkers for asthma inflammation.
- To compare the effectiveness of these urinary markers with traditional lung function tests and serum eosinophil cationic protein (ECP).
- To explore the potential role of cytokine monitoring in asthma control and prognosis.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing studies on urinary EPX and LTE4 as asthma biomarkers.
- Analysis of correlations between urinary markers, serum ECP, and lung function variables.
- Discussion of limitations and potential future applications of inflammatory mediator monitoring in asthma.
Main Results:
- Urinary EPX avoids venipuncture but shows overlap with controls, weak correlation with lung function, and is affected by concurrent allergies.
- Urinary LTE4 excretion reflects cysteinyl leukotriene production and may correlate better with lung function than serum ECP.
- Current methods for monitoring inflammatory mediators in asthma require further development for clinical utility.
Conclusions:
- Urinary EPX has limitations for routine clinical use in asthma management.
- Urinary LTE4 shows promise as a non-invasive marker reflecting asthma pathophysiology.
- Future research should focus on developing rapid and simple techniques for monitoring cytokines and other inflammatory mediators for improved asthma control and prognosis, especially in children.