Abstract
Introduction: Nowadays, Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are regarded as a systemic disorders and extraintestinal sites of inflammation have been found in various organs, including respiratory system. Chronic inflammation involving a wide variety of cytokines plays an important role in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD).
Aim of the study: The aim of the study was to evaluate the concentration of several inflammatory cytokines in exhaled breath condensate (EBC) in children with IBD.
Material: 47 children with IBD (24 boys and 23 girls, mean age 13.8±3.3) and 37 healthy volunteers (20 boys, 17 girls, mean age 13.9±3.6) were enrolled into the study.
Methods: EBC was collected during 10 minutes of tidal breathing. IL1β, IL6, IL8 and TNFα were measured with ELISA.
Results: The concentration of inflammatory cytokines in study group was as follow: TNFα- mean 0.8 pg/ml, SD 0.4, IL1β - mean 0.3 pg/ml, SD 0.3, IL 6 - mean 0,1 pg/ml, SD 0.1, IL 8 - mean 0.2 pg/ml, SD 0.3. Control group - TNFα - 0.6 pg/ml, SD 0.3 IL1β - 0.0 pg/ml, SD 0.1, IL 6 - 0.0 pg/ml, SD 0.0, IL 8 - 0.0 pg/ml, SD 0.0. The levels of all cytokines were significantly higher in the study group (p<0.05).
Conclusion: The elevated concentration of inflammatory cytokines in EBC in children with IBD can suggest that inflammation, which plays the key role in pathogenesis of IBD, may be also present in respiratory tract.
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