• Byung-Jae Lee, Yun-Jin Jeung, Jin-Young Lee, and Dong-Chull Choi.
• Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
• Int. Arch. Allergy Immunol. 2011 Jan 1; 156 (1): 99-103.

BackgroundNonasthmatic eosinophilic bronchitis (NAEB) and cough variant asthma (CVA) are common causes of chronic cough. Both are characterized by eosinophilic inflammation in the airways. However, airway hyperresponsiveness, which is a characteristic feature of CVA, is not observed in NAEB. We hypothesized that endogenous bronchodilator S-nitrosothiol (SNO) levels are different between patients with NAEB and CVA.MethodsSNO concentrations in sputum supernatant were measured using a commercially available kit in 20 NAEB and 21 CVA patients.ResultsThe mean sputum eosinophil counts and exhaled nitric oxide values were similar in patients with NAEB (12.4 ± 2.3%, 80.6 ± 8.1 ppb) and CVA (15.3 ± 3.7%, 97.7 ± 9.2 ppb). By contrast, SNO levels in the airway lining fluid of NAEB patients were substantially higher than those of CVA patients (87.1 ± 9.8 vs. 46.8 ± 4.8 μM; p < 0.05).ConclusionsSNOs may be an important factor in determining the development of airway hyperresponsiveness in the presence of eosinophilic inflammation.Copyright © 2011 S. Karger AG, Basel.

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