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Effect of an inhaled adenosine A2A agonist on the allergen-induced late asthmatic response
B Luijk1, M van den Berge, H A M Kerstjens
1Department of Pulmonary Diseases, Heart Lung Center Utrecht, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Background:
Adenosine receptor activation is suggested to play a role in asthmatic airway inflammation. Inhibition of adenosine receptors may have an effect on the late asthmatic response (LAR) after allergen inhalation and this mechanism could offer a potential new treatment in asthma.
Methods:
We evaluated the effect of an inhaled adenosine-(2A) (A(2A))-receptor agonist (GW328267X), 25 microg, in 15 nonsmoking atopic asthmatics who underwent an inhaled allergen challenge following twice daily treatment for 1 week in a double-blind, placebo- and fluticasone propionate (250 microg) controlled study.
Results:
In contrast to fluticasone, treatment with the A(2A)-receptor agonist neither significantly protect against the allergen-induced early and late asthmatic reaction, nor the accompanying inflammatory response as measured by sputum total cell counts, number of EG2+ cells, and the concentration of interleukin-8 and eosinophil cationic protein.
Conclusion:
The inhaled A(2A)-receptor agonist, GW328267X, 25 microg does not affect the allergen-induced LAR or the associated inflammatory response in asthma.
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