Upregulation of RANTES in nasal polyps from patients with cystic fibrosis

Cytokine profile in tear and aqueous humor of primary open-angle patients as a prognostic factor for trabeculectomy outcome

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the cytokine profile in tear and aqueous humor in primary open-angle glaucoma before trabeculectomy and correlate preoperative cytokine levels with the surgical outcome.

METHODS

Prospective study. Twenty-nine patients with primary open-angle glaucoma undergoing primary trabeculectomy were included. Levels of 27 cytokines were measured in tear an aqueous humor using the Bio-Plex Pro Human Cytokine 27-Plex Immunoassay kit (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Hercules, CA, USA).

RESULTS

29 patients who underwent trabeculectomy were included and their first-year follow-up visits were recorded. Mean age was 76.0 ± 7.0 years (range 56-84), mean intraocular pressure was 18.2 ± 3.6 mmHg and mean number of topical medications was 2.3 ± 0.9. At the one-year visit, 5 patients were classified as surgical failure. In aqueous humor, preoperative cytokine levels of regulated on activation normal T cell expressed and secreted (RANTES) were significantly higher in those patients with surgical failure at one year. IL-8 in tear and interferon gamma-induced protein (IP-10) in aqueous humor correlated positively with one-year IOP reduction. No statistically significant correlations were found with changes in visual field mean defect or global peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (all, p >0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Preoperative RANTES levels in aqueous humor as well as other cytokines could serve as useful biomarkers for trabeculectomy outcome.

Dynamics of soluble and cellular inflammatory markers in nasal lavage obtained from cystic fibrosis patients during intravenous antibiotic treatment

BACKGROUND

In cystic fibrosis (CF) patients, the upper airways display the same ion channel defect as evident in the lungs, resulting in chronic inflammation and infection. Recognition of the sinonasal area as a site of first and persistent infection with pathogens, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, reinforces the "one-airway" hypothesis. Therefore, we assessed the effect of systemic antibiotics against pulmonary pathogens on sinonasal inflammation.

METHODS

Nasal lavage fluid (NLF) from 17 CF patients was longitudinally collected prior to and during elective intravenous (i.v.) antibiotic treatment to reduce pathogen burden and resulting inflammation (median treatment time at time of analysis: 6 days). Samples were assessed microbiologically and cytologically. Cytokine and chemokine expression was measured by Cytometric Bead Array and ELISA (interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-8, MPO, MMP9, RANTES and NE). Findings were compared with inflammatory markers from NLF obtained from 52 healthy controls.

RESULTS

Initially, the total cell count of the NLF was significantly higher in CF patients than in controls. However after i.v. antibiotic treatment it decreased to a normal level. Compared with controls, detection frequencies and absolute concentrations of MPO, IL-8, IL-6 and IL-1β were also significantly higher in CF patients. The detection frequency of TNF was also higher. Furthermore, during i.v. therapy sinonasal concentrations of IL-6 decreased significantly (P = 0.0059), while RANTES and MMP9 levels decreased 10-fold and two-fold, respectively. PMN-Elastase, assessed for the first time in NFL, did not change during therapy.

CONCLUSIONS

Analysis of NLF inflammatory markers revealed considerable differences between controls and CF patients, with significant changes during systemic i.v. AB treatment within just 6 days. Thus, our data support further investigation into the collection of samples from the epithelial surface of the upper airways by nasal lavage as a potential diagnostic and research tool.