Effect of inhaled endotoxin on regional particle deposition in patients with mild asthma

摘要

Atopic asthmatic patients are reported to be more sensitive to the effects of environmental endotoxin (LPS) than healthy volunteers (HVs).1 However, we recently found that the airway inflammatory response to inhaled LPS challenge is blunted in allergic asthmatic (AA) patients compared with that seen in HVs.2 Although the percentage of neutrophils in induced sputum was increased in both HVs and AA patients 6 hours after inhaled LPS challenge, the absolute numbers of leukocytes and PMNs recruited to the airways were significantly lower in AA patients compared with those seen in HVs. Neither group had any change in spirometric function associated with LPS challenge, but it is widely recognized that spirometry is not a very sensitive measure for detecting subtle changes in airway physiology.