Scientific publications
Effect of aspirin on beta-receptors in lymphocytes from patients with aspirin-induced asthma
Costa-Manso E, Sanz ML, Croce M, Córdoba H, Oehling A.
Department of Allergology and Clinical Immunology, University Clinic, School of Medicine, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain.
We studied the effect of aspirin on beta-adrenergic receptors in lymphocytes from three groups of subjects: 5 asthmatic patients presenting sensitivity to aspirin, 10 asthmatic patients with tolerance to aspirin and a control group. Lymphocytes were incubated with aspirin-lysine (36 micrograms/ml).
The number of beta-receptors/cell and the dissociation constants (Kd) were assessed by means of [125I]-cyanopindolol (ICYP). There was a decrease in the number of beta-receptors after incubation with aspirin in all asthmatic patients with sensitivity. The differences between mean basal (660 +/- 171 receptors/cell) and postincubation (398 +/- 110 receptors/cell) values were significant (p < 0.05). There were also significant differences (p < 0.01) between basal (23.4 +/- 6 pM) and postincubation (15 +/- 5.1 pM) Kd values, which indicates that the affinity of ICYP increased. In the subjects in the other two groups, aspirin both increased and decreased the number of beta-receptors, but the effects were not significant.
It is suggested that in patients with sensitivity, aspirin could induce changes in the plasmatic membrane, thus altering beta-receptors or inducing the release of inflammatory mediators that exert their effect upon these receptors.
CITATION J Investig Allergol Clin Immunol. 1993 Nov-Dec;3(6):288-93