[Interleukin-8 in sputum from patients with pulmonary emphysema]

We measured concentrations of interleukin-8 (IL-8) in sputum from 38 patients with pulmonary emphysema, from 30 patients with bronchial asthma, and in induced sputum from 10 healthy subjects. Concentrations of IL-8 were significantly higher in sputum from patients with emphysema than in sputum from patients with asthma (mean +/- SE: 22,961 +/- 1,412 pg/ml and 9,135 +/- 1,590 pg/ml, respectively, p<0.0001) and were also higher than in sputum from healthy subjects (3,253+/-687 pg/ml, p<0.0001). Concentrations of IL-8 in sputum from patients with emphysema were unrelated to whether the patient was a current smoker or an ex-smoker, and did not correlate with concentrations of IL-8 in serum. Concentrations of IL-8 in sputum from patients with emphysema correlated significantly with FEV1% (r=-0.78, p<0.0001) and with %RV/TLC (r=0.63, p<0.01). These data suggest that IL-8 is mainly involved in chronic airway inflammation and that concentrations of IL-8 in sputum are closely related to airflow obstruction in patients with pulmonary emphysema.