OBJECTIVEThis study examined the changes of serum levels of interleukin 12 ( IL-12), transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGFbeta 1) and immunoglobulin E ( IgE) in children with asthma as well as the correlation of IL-12 and TGFbeta 1 with IgE in order to investigate their roles in asthma.

METHODSSerum levels of IL-12 , TGFbeta 1 and IgE were detected using ELISA in 85 asthmatic children at the acute and the remission stages. Thirty healthy children served as control group.

RESULTSCompared with the control group, serum IL-12 and TGFbeta 1 levels were significantly lower and serum IgE levels were significantly higher in the asthmatic group through the acute to the remission stages. Serum IL-12 and TGFbeta 1 levels (40.42+/-15.26 ng/L and 65.41+/-22.38 pg/mL) significantly increased in the asthmatic group at the remission stage compared with those at the acute stage (28.42+/-10.73 ng/L and 40.25+/-11.73 pg/mL) (P<0.01), but remained lower levels than those in the control group (67.42+/-20.58 ng/L and 178.54+/-90.56 pg/mL) (P<0.01). The asthmatic patients at the remission stage showed significantly decreased serum IgE levels (145.67 +/-51.25 IU/mL) compared with those at the acute stage (280.35 +/-80.54 IU/mL) (P<0.01), but the IgE level in the remission stage was obviously higher than in the control group (53.61+/-13.32 IU/mL) (P<0.01). Serum IL-12 and TGFbeta 1 levels were negatively correlated with serum IgE level in asthmatic children.

CONCLUSIONSThere might be an imbalance in serum IL-12, TGFbeta 1 and IgE levels in asthmatic children. IL-12, TGFbeta 1 and IgE may play an important role in the pathogenesis of asthma. They may be useful in the diagnosis and severity evaluation of asthma.