Levels of IL-17, IL-8 and VEGF in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid in asthma children

AIM: To investigate the mechanism of airway inflammation in children with asthma by determining the levels of IL-17, IL-8 and vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). METHODS: Eighty-eight children were enrolled in the study and divided into asthma group (n=52), pneumonia group (n=25) and control group (n=11). BALF were collected from all 88 cases. The levels of IL-17, IL-8, VEGF, IL-4 and IFN-γ in BALF were measured by ELISA. The cell types in BALF were determined. RESULTS: Compared with the control, the levels of IL-17 and IL-8 were significantly elevated in asthma group and pneumonia group (all P<0.05). The level of IL-8 (P<0.05) in the patients with asthma was lower than that in the pneumonia patients. No statistical difference of the IL-17 level between asthma group and pneumoniae group was observed (P>0.05). Compared with pneumonia group and control group, the level of VEGF was significantly increased in asthma group (all P<0.01), and the VEGF level among control group and pneumonia groups was almost similar (P>0.05). The levels of IL-4 and IFN-γ, and ratio of IL-4/IFN-γ among groups were not statistically different. The percentage of neutrophils in BALF was significantly higher in asthma group and pneumonia group than that in control group (all P<0.01). CONCLUSION: IL-17, IL-8 and VEGF play important roles in airway inflammation in children with asthma. Th17 cells may participate in the pathogenesis of asthma in children.