Relative corticosteroid insensitivity of alveolar macrophages in severe asthma compared with non-severe asthma

Background: About 5-10% of patients with asthma suffer from poorly controlled disease despite corticosteroid (CS) treatment, which may indicate the presence of CS insensitivity. A study was undertaken to determine whether relative CS insensitivity is present in alveolar macrophages from patients with severe asthma and its association with p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation and MAPK phosphatase-1 (MKP-1). Methods: Fibreoptic bronchoscopy and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) were performed in 20 patients with severe asthma and 19 with non-severe asthma and, for comparison, in 14 normal volunteers. Alveolar macrophages were exposed to lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 10 mu g/ml) and dexamethasone (10(-8) and 10(-6) M). Supernatants were assayed for cytokines using an ELISA-based method. p38 MAPK activity and MKP-1 messenger RNA expression were assayed in cell extracts. Results: The inhibition of LPS-induced interleukin (IL) 1 beta, IL6, IL8, monocyte chemotactic protein (MCP)-1 and macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1 alpha release by dexamethasone (10(-6) M) was significantly less in macrophages from patients with severe asthma than in macrophages from patients with non-severe asthma. There was increased p38 MAPK activation in macrophages from patients with severe asthma. MKP-1 expression induced by dexamethasone and LPS, expressed as a ratio of LPS-induced expression, was reduced in severe asthma. Conclusion: Alveolar macrophages from patients with severe asthma demonstrate CS insensitivity associated with increased p38 MAPK activation that may result from impaired inducibility of MKP-1.