The aim of the present study was to investigate bronchoprotective sensitivity in patients receiving regular treatment with short- and long-acting β2-agonists and to evaluate any possible association with genetic polymorphism. Thirty-eight patients with stable mild to moderate asthma and receiving inhaled corticosteroids were randomized in a parallel group, double-blind, double-dummy fashion to receive 2 weeks of treatment with either formoterol (12μg once daily, 6μg twice daily or 24μg twice daily) or terbutaline (500μg four times daily). Bronchoprotection against methacholine challenge (as a provocative dose to produce a 20% fall in forced expiratory volume in 1.0 ;s: PD20) was measured at baseline (unprotected) after an initial 1 week run-in without β2-agonist, and at 1 ;h after the first and last doses of each treatment. The PD20 values were log-transformed and calculated as change from baseline. Percentage desensitization of log PD20 for first- versus last-dose bronchoprotection was calculated and analysed according to effects of treatment and β2-adrenoceptor polymorphism at codon 16 or 27. The mean degree of desensitization for bronchoprotection was comparable with all four treatments and there were no significant differences in absolute PD20 values after 2 weeks of chronic dosing. The PD20 values were (as μg of methacholine, geometric means±S.E.M.): formoterol, 12μg once daily, 99±42μg; formoterol, 6μg twice daily, 107±44μg; formoterol, 24μg twice daily, 108±45μg; terbutaline, 500μg four times daily, 88±37μg. All patients receiving formoterol, 24μg twice daily, exhibited a loss of protection greater than 30% which was unrelated to polymorphism at codon 16 or 27. For codon 16, the use of lower doses of formoterol (12μg once daily or 6μg twice daily) showed wider variability in the propensity for protection loss in patients who were heterozygous, in contrast to a more uniform protection loss seen with homozygous glycine patients. The amount of protection loss was not significantly related to polymorphism at codon 16 or 27, expressed as values (mean±S.E.M.) for percentage desensitization according to each genotype (pooled treatments): Gly-16, 66±11%; Het-16, 53±8%; Arg-16, 69±18%; Glu-27, 68±12%; Het-27, 58±8%; Gln-27, 52±12%. The results of this preliminary study showed that bronchoprotective desensitization occurred readily in response to short- or long-acting β2-agonist exposure irrespective of β2-adrenoceptor polymorphism at codon 16 or 27. Further studies with larger patient numbers are required to further evaluate the effects of polymorphisms with lower doses of regular formoterol.
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March 01 1999
β2-Adrenoceptor polymorphism and bronchoprotective sensitivity with regular short- and long-acting β2-agonist therapy
B. J. LIPWORTH;
1Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics and Department of Respiratory Medicine, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 9SY, Scotland, U.K.
Correspondence: Professor B. J. Lipworth.
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I. P. HALL;
I. P. HALL
*Department of Therapeutics, University Hospital, Nottingham NG7 2UH, U.K.
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I. AZIZ;
I. AZIZ
1Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics and Department of Respiratory Medicine, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 9SY, Scotland, U.K.
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K. S. TAN;
K. S. TAN
1Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics and Department of Respiratory Medicine, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 9SY, Scotland, U.K.
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A. WHEATLEY
A. WHEATLEY
*Department of Therapeutics, University Hospital, Nottingham NG7 2UH, U.K.
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Publisher: Portland Press Ltd
Received:
July 03 1998
Revision Received:
September 14 1998
Accepted:
October 23 1998
Online ISSN: 1470-8736
Print ISSN: 0143-5221
The Biochemical Society and the Medical Research Society © 1999
1999
Clin Sci (Lond) (1999) 96 (3): 253–259.
Article history
Received:
July 03 1998
Revision Received:
September 14 1998
Accepted:
October 23 1998
Citation
B. J. LIPWORTH, I. P. HALL, I. AZIZ, K. S. TAN, A. WHEATLEY; β2-Adrenoceptor polymorphism and bronchoprotective sensitivity with regular short- and long-acting β2-agonist therapy. Clin Sci (Lond) 1 March 1999; 96 (3): 253–259. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/cs0960253
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