Background: High-producer TGFβ1 genotypes are associated with severe lung disease in cystic fibrosis (CF), but studies combining IL-8, TNFα-, and TGFβ1(+genotype) levels and their impact on CF lung disease are scarce.
Aim: Assessing the relationship between TGF β 1, IL-8, and TNF- α and lung disease in CF in an exacerbation-free interval.
Methods: Twenty four patients delta F508 homozygous (median age 20.5 y, Shwachman score 75, FEV1(%) 83) and 8 controls (median age 27.5 y) were examined. TGF β 1 was assessed in serum and induced sputum (IS) by ELISA, for IL-8 and TNF- α by chemiluminescence in IS and whole blood. Genotyping was performed for TGF β 1 C-509T and T+869C utilizing RFLP.
Results: TGF β 1 in IS (CF/controls median 76.5/59.1 pg/mL, P < 0.074) was higher in CF. There was a negative correlation between TGF β 1 in serum and lung function (LF) (FEV1 (r = -0.488, P = 0.025), MEF 25 (r = -0.425, P = 0.055), and VC (r = -0.572, P = 0.007)). Genotypes had no impact on TGF β 1 in IS, serum, and LF. In IS TGF β 1 correlated with IL-8 (r = 0.593, P < 0.007) and TNF- α (r = 0.536, P < 0.018) in patients colonized by bacteria with flagellin.
Conclusion: TGF β 1 in serum not in IS correlates with LF. In patients colonized by bacteria with flagellin, TGF β 1 correlates with IL-8 and TNF- α in IS.