Airway levels of LPS (P=0.003), CXCL8 (P=0.004), CCL5 (P=0.029), IL-6 (P=0.004), and IL-13 (P<0.001) were significantly higher in infants who later developed recurrent wheezing than those who did not.
At birth, when compared to those with no recent wheeze, supernatants from cultured neonatal AEC from the children with recent wheeze had reduced median IL-8 (CXCL8) release after treatment with culture medium alone (P = 0.049), with TNFα/IL-1β (P < 0.001) and LPS (P = 0.004).
IL8-rs4073AT, VEGFA-rs2146323AA and NFKBIA-rs2233419AG were associated with a significantly increased risk of developing recurrent wheezing (p = 0.04, p = 0.04 and p = 0.03), whereas TLR3-rs3775291TC was associated with a significantly reduced risk (p = 0.03).
There were no significant associations between the serum levels of IL-8 and pulmonary symptoms (chronic cough, sputum, hemoptysis, and dyspnea), pulmonary findings (crackles, rales, and wheezing) as well as spirometry parameters.