Evidence for Oxidant Stress

It is thought that reactive oxygen species (ROS) participate in the inflammation which characterizes asthma, but the evidence supporting this contention is incomplete. F 2 -isoprostanes (F 2 -IsoPs) are arachidonate products formed on membrane phospholipids by the action of ROS and thereby represent a quantitative measure of oxidant stress in vivo. Using a mass spectrometric assay we measured urinary release of F 2 -IsoPs in 11 patients with mild atopic asthma after inhaled allergen challenge. The excretion of F 2 -IsoPs increased at 2 h after allergen (1.5 6 0.2 versus 2.6 6 0.3 ng/mg creatinine) and remained significantly elevated in all urine collections for the 8-h period of the study (analysis of variance [ANOVA]). The measured compounds were of noncyclooxygenase origin because neither aspirin nor indomethacin given before challenge suppressed them. Urinary F 2 -IsoPs remained unchanged after inhaled methacholine challenge. In nine atopic asthmatics, F 2 -IsoPs were quantified in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) at baseline values and in a separate segment 24 h after allergen instillation. F 2 -IsoPs were elevated late in the BALF (0.9 6 0.2 versus 11.4 6 3.0 pg /ml, baseline versus allergen, respectively, p 5 0.007). The increase was inhibited by pretreatment of the subjects with inhaled corticosteroids. These findings provide a new evidence for a role for ROS and lipid peroxidation in allergen-induced airway inflammation. Dworski R, Murray JJ, Roberts LJ, II, Oates JA, Morrow JD, Fisher L, Sheller JR. Allergen-induced sythesis of F 2 -isoprostanes in atopic asthmatics: evidence for oxident stress. AM J RESPIR CRIT CARE MED 1999;160:1947–1951.