expression of the apoptosis inhibitor bcl-2 in sputum eosinophils in patients with asthma

background and objectives: apoptosis of eosinophils is of significant value in assessing the airway inflammation in patients with asthma. our purpose was to investigate the degree of expression of the bcl-2 protein in sputum eosinophils during acute asthma exacerbation and its relationship with exacerbation severity.    materials and methods: the study was carried out in mostafa khomeini hospital, tehran, iran in march 2008. sputum was obtained from 15 asthmatic patients and 13 healthy subjects as a control group. number of eosinophils was counted and bcl-2+ eosinophils were stained using immunocytochemistry.   results: sputum eosinophils and bcl-2+ eosinophils were significantly higher in patients with acute exacerbation than controls (p