Neutrophil defensins: their possible role in allergic asthma.

Background: Neutrophil defensins, originally identified as broad-spectrum antimicrobial peptides, have been implicated in the regulation of inflammatory and immunological processes.

Objectives: To investigate whether the in vitro challenge of neutrophils from patients with bronchial asthma with allergens stimulated the release of alpha-defensins and whether levels released were dependent on lung infections.

Method: The neutrophils were cultivated with different agonists and the concentration of alpha-defensin in cell-free supernatant was measured with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).