Inhaled fluticasone reduces bronchial responsiveness and airway inflammation in cats with mild chronic bronchitis

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Abstract
This study investigated the effect of inhaled fluticasone on lower airway inflammation and bronchial responsiveness (BR) to inhaled carbachol in cats with very mild, chronic bronchitis ( n=5) that were compared with healthy cats serving as controls ( n=6). Chest radiographs, BR tests performed non-invasively by barometric whole body plethysmography (BWBP) and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) were performed before and after treatment. BR was quantified by calculating the concentration of carbachol inducing bronchoconstriction (C-Penh300%), defined as a 300% increase of baseline Penh, an index of bronchoconstriction obtained by BWBP. BAL fluid was analyzed cytologically and the oxidant marker 8-iso-PGF2α was determined. At test 1, healthy cats and cats with bronchitis were untreated, whereas for test 2 inhalant fluticasone (250 μg once daily) was administrated for 2 consecutive weeks to cats with bronchitis. Control cats remained untreated. Inhaled fluticasone induced a significant increase in C-Penh300% and a significant decrease of BAL fluid total cells, macrophages, neutrophils and 8-iso-PGF2α in cats with bronchitis, whilst untreated control cats did not show significant changes over time. This study shows that a 2-week fluticasone treatment significantly reduced lower airway inflammation in very mild bronchitis. BR could be successfully monitored in cats using BWPB and decreased significantly in response to inhaled fluticasone. 8-Iso-PGF2α in BAL fluid was responsive to treatment and appeared as a sensitive biomarker of lower airway inflammation in cats.