Abstract
AIM: This work investigated the difference of serum cytokine levels in children with bronchial asthma (BA) in acute attack and clinical remission and the relationship between them. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A hundred children with BA were included and enrolled into an acute attack group (AA group) and a clinical remission group (CR group) according to their medical history and clinical characteristics, with 50 children in each group. Then, another 50 healthy children in the same hospital for physical examination were randomly selected as controls. RESULTS: Interleukin (IL) 4 (IL-4) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) levels in the AA group were significantly higher than those in controls (p < 0.05), but the IL-4 and IFN-γ levels in the clinical remission phase group were not remarkably different from those in controls (p > 0.05). The IL-15 level in the AA group was much higher than that in children with BA in the clinical remission stage and controls, and the IL-15 level in the CR control was higher than that in controls (p < 0.05). IL-4 level was positively linked with INF-γ level (r = 15.621, p = 0.002) and IL-15 level (r = 9.581, p = 0.008). IL-15, IL-4, and IFN-γ were related to the incidence of BA of children and played a role in the exacerbation of respiratory inflammation during acute attacks. IL-4 was associated with IL-15 and INF-γ, and there was a synergistic relationship in promoting inflammation of BA.