Clinical implications of correlation between peripheral eosinophil count and serum levels of IL-5 and tryptase in acute eosinophilic pneumonia.

BACKGROUND

The peripheral eosinophil count (PEC) tends to increase during the course of acute eosinophilic pneumonia (AEP), and an initially elevated PEC is associated with milder disease. However, there is a lack of data regarding these phenomena and inflammatory process of AEP.

METHODS

We prospectively evaluated serial changes in serum interleukin (IL)-5 levels and the correlation between the initial level of IL-5 and the PEC to investigate whether the initial PEC indicates a resolving state of inflammation. We also evaluated serum tryptase levels to investigate the possibility of involvement of mast cell activity in AEP.

RESULTS

Twenty-one AEP patients were included, and all patients improved within 10 days after corticosteroid treatment. The median initial serum IL-5 level among all patients was 561.0 pg/mL, which decreased to zero at 10 days of follow-up (n = 15, P < 0.001). The median initial serum tryptase level (detectable in 20 of 21 patients) was 3.7 ng/mL and decreased to a median of 1.1 ng/mL at 10 days of follow-up (n = 15, P < 0.001). The initial serum IL-5 and C-reactive protein levels were positively correlated (P = 0.009, r = 0.556), and the initial serum IL-5 level was inversely correlated with the initial PEC (P = 0.004, r = -0.603).

CONCLUSIONS

Our data suggest that IL-5 is an important cytokine involved in the recruitment of eosinophils from peripheral blood into the lungs, that an initially elevated PEC is associated with a resolving state of inflammation, and that mast cells are potentially involved in the inflammatory process of AEP.