Increased in vitro cysteinyl leukotriene release from blood leukocytes in patients with asthma, nasal polyps, and aspirin intolerance.

Abstract

In vitro cysteinyl leukotriene (cLT) release from blood leukocytes was measured in eight normal individuals (NI), nine patients with nasal polyps (NP) without aspirin intolerance, and eight patients with NP, asthma, and aspirin intolerance (AI). Blood leukocytes were prestimulated with interleukin-3 (IL-3) and incubated with acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) (10 and 100 micrograms/ml) together with C5a (10(-8) mol/l) for 18 h. cLT release (LTC4, LTD4 and LTE4) from blood leukocytes was measured with a competitive enzyme-linked immunoassay. Background cLT release was 259 +/- 66 pg/ml (mean +/- SEM) in the NI group, 185 +/- 33 pg/ml in the NP group, and 578 +/- 136 pg/ml in the AI group (P = 0.1). After incubation with 10 micrograms/ml ASA, cLT concentration was lower in normal subjects (346 +/- 72 pg/ml) and in patients with NP (209 +/- 53) than in patients with AI (686 +/- 75 pg/ml, P = 0.002). After incubation with 100 micrograms/ml ASA, cLT concentrations were 285 +/- 72 pg/ml in the NI group, 313 +/- 77 pg/ml in the NP group, and 654 +/- 121 pg/ml in the AI group (P = 0.04), respectively. Simultaneous incubation with ASA 10 micrograms/ml and C5a (10(-8)mol/l) resulted in a cLT concentration of 751 +/- 171 pg/ml in the NI group, 343 +/- 102 pg/ml in the NP group, and 2196 +/- 480 pg/ml in patients with AI (P = 0.0006), whereas simultaneous incubation with ASA 100 g/ml and C5a (10(-8)mol/l) resulted in 268 +/- 51 pg/ml in the NI group, 412 +/- 97 pg/ml in the NP group, and 1701 +/- 368 pg/ml in the AI group (P = 0.005). In patients with AI, cLT release from blood leukocytes is altered when compared with normals and patients with NP. The presented cLT-release assay could be of potential use in the in vitro diagnosis of AI.