BACKGROUND: The balance between tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) is important for immune homeostasis maintenance. Exuberant production of TNF-alpha contributes to overwhelming inflammatory response and tissue damage. But, commonly, increase in TNF-alpha is counterbalanced by simultaneous synthesis of an anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10, which suppresses production of many activating and regulatory mediators. AIMS: In the present study, the relationships between TNF-alpha and IL-10 in the plasma of healthy school-children and cystic fibrosis (CF) patients have been investigated. METHODS: Blood samples were obtained from 12 CF patients with chronic pulmonary disease and 18 healthy schoolchildren vaccinated with live attenuated rubella vaccine. IL-10 and TNF-alpha were determined in the plasma samples using commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits. RESULTS: Before vaccination, most healthy children (13 of 18) demonstrated superiority of pro-inflammatory TNF-alpha over anti-inflammatory IL-10 (TNF-alpha/IL-10 > 1). In these subjects, a significant positive linear association between the cytokine values has been found. Vaccine challenge resulted in a marked reduction of TNF-alpha/IL-10 ratios. In addition, a disappearance of correlation between the cytokine values was observed. Such disturbance was related to exuberant elevation of the IL-10 levels after inoculation. On the contrary, in CF individuals, plasma cytokine values remained in strong linear association independently of TNF-alpha or IL-10 predominance. No spikes in the plasma levels of IL-10 in CF patients during a 6-month observation period have been revealed. CONCLUSIONS: There were no fundamental differences between CF and healthy children in the regulation of TNF-alpha and IL-10 secretion. Thus, immune quiescence seemed to be associated with the predominance of TNF-alpha, whereas immune disturbance was characterized by IL-10 superiority. The only abnormality that was found in CF patients consisted of their inability to produce unlimitedly IL-10 in response to antigen stimuli.

Chronic endobronchial inflammation and bacterial infection are the main causes of morbidity and mortality in cystic fibrosis (CF), an autosomal recessive genetic disorder associated with improper function of chloride channels. Inflammation in CF lung is greatly amplified after Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection. In this study the relationship between P. aeruginosa status and inflammatory markers has been investigated. Seventeen CF children in acute lung exacerbation were examined. CF patients without P. aeruginosa infection were characterized by elevated activity of sputum elastase, reduced response of peripheral blood lymphocytes to PHA and significant resistance to the antiproliferative action of glucocorticoids. These parameters were normalized after antibiotic treatment. The patients with prolonged P. aeruginosa infection demonstrated extremely high levels of elastase activity and elevated amounts of sputum IL-8 and TNF-alpha. Although antibiotic treatment resulted in clinical improvement, it failed to suppress excessive immune response in the lung. The data indicate that CF patients with prolonged P. aeruginosa need the modified treatment, which should include immunomodulating drugs and protease inhibitors as well as antibacterial therapy.

Cystic fibrosis (CF; OMIM #219700) is a common autosomal recessive disease. The spectrum and frequency of CFTR mutations vary significantly in different populations and ethnic groups. A genetic epidemiological study was conducted in the indigenous ethnic group of people known as the Karachais. They live in the Republic of Karachay-Cherkessia, which lies in the northwest of Russia's North Caucasus region. Karachai's are Turkic-speaking and consist of 194 thousand people (approximately 40% of the population of the Republic). Molecular genetic analysis was performed in 10 unrelated Karachai families with CF patients from three districts in the Republic. A high frequency of W1282X mutation was found (18 of 20 mutant alleles): eight patients were homozygous for the W1282X mutation, and two were compound heterozygous (the second alleles were R1066C and R709X). Analysis for 13 common CF mutations in the sample of 142 healthy Karachais identified two 1677delTA and two W1282X mutation carriers. Thus, the most common CFTR mutation, F508del, was not detected among the CF patients or in healthy Karachais. The most frequent mutation among Karachai patients is W1282X (90%). Its frequency in healthy Karachais is approximately 0.007. Haplotype analysis using the CFTR intragene DNA markers IVS1CA, IVS6aGATT, IVS8CA and IVS17bCA showed that the origins of the W1282X mutation in Karachay-Cherkessia and the Eastern European part of Russia are different.

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Хроническая инфекция нижних дыхательных путей является ключевым признаком у больных муковисцидозом (МВ). Она является ведущим фактором, определяющим тяжесть клинического течения и прогноз заболевания. При изучении микрофлоры нижних дыхательных путей различ-ных возрастных групп детей, больных МВ, исследователями различных стран установлено, что основными возбудителями инфекции легких у больных МВ являются Р. aeruginosa, S. aureus и H. influenzae [1]. Показано, что в первые годы жизни у больных МВ доминирует золотистый стафилококк, а затем основным возбудителем становится синегнойная палочка [2, 3]. В последние годы было конста-С.В. ПОЛИКАРПОВА 1 , к.м.н., Е.И. КОНДРАТЬЕВА 2 , д.м.н., профессор, Л.А. ШАБАЛОВА 2 , к.м.н., Н.В. ПИВКИНА 1 , С.В. ЖИЛИНА 1 , А.Ю. ВОРОНКОВА 2 , В.Д. ШЕРМАН 2 , к.м.н., В.С. НИКОНОВА 2 , Н.И. КАПРАНОВ 2 , д.м.н., профессор, Н.Ю. КАШИРСКАЯ 2 , С.Ю. СЕМЫКИН 3 , Е.Л. АМЕЛИНА 4 , С.А. КРАСОВСКИЙ 4 1 Городская клиническая больница №15 им. О.М. Филатова Департамента здравоохранения г. Москвы 2 Медико-генетический научный центр, Москва