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Abstract
Cytotoxic lymphocyte associated antigen-4 (CTLA-4) is a homologue of CD28, which plays a critical role in the down-regulation of antigen-activated immune response. The aim of the present study was to investigate the concentrations of soluble CTLA-4 in sera of patients with bronchial asthma and the correlation between soluble CTLA-4 concentrations and some clinical measures of asthma. The concentrations of serum soluble CTLA-4 in 31 atopic asthmatics, 20 non-atopic asthmatics, and 28 non-atopic normal control volunteers were determined by ELISA technique, and the relationship between serum soluble CTLA-4 concentrations in asthmatics and airway responsiveness, pulmonary function, blood white cell counts and differentials, respectively, were analyzed. Serum soluble CTLA-4 concentrations in both atopic asthmatics (20.2 ± 5.4 µg/L) and non-atopic asthmatics (19.2 ± 6.2 µg/L) were all higher than that in normal controls (1.8 ± 0.8 µg/L, p = 0.04 and 0.014, respectively). There was no difference in serum soluble CTLA-4 concentrations between atopic and non-atopic asthmatics (p = 0.877). The serum soluble CTLA-4 concentrations in the asthmatics statistically correlated with forced expiratory volume in one second (r = − 0.410, p = 0.027), percentage of predicted peak expiratory flow (r = − 0.449, p = 0.015), and PaCO2 (r = 0.555, p = 0.002), respectively. Our data also showed that the concentration of soluble CTLA-4 was significantly related to blood lymphocyte numbers. The serum soluble CTLA-4 protein level was significantly elevated in patients with asthma. This level correlated with the severity of asthma. Our data also showed that the concentration of soluble CTLA-4 was significantly related to blood lymphocyte numbers.
| Abbreviations | ||
| CTLA-4: | = | cytotoxic T lymphocyte associated antigen-4 |
| ELISA: | = | enzyme-linked immunosobent assay |
| FEV1: | = | forced expiratory volume in 1 second |
| PaO2: | = | artery partial pressure of oxygen |
| PaCO2: | = | artery partial pressure of carbon dioxide |
| PEF: | = | peak expiratory flow |