FIGURE 1.

The effects of formoterol and salmeterol (1–100 nM) on the a) generation of superoxide and b) release of elastase following activation of neutrophils with N-formyl-l-methionyl-l-leucyl-l-phenylalanine (fMLP) (1 µM) alone, or in combination with cytochalasin B (CB) (1 µM) in the case of elastase release (n=4–5). The median values (interquartile range) for the responses of control (drug-free), unstimulated neutrophils for superoxide generation and release of elastase were 1211 (1081–2695) relative light units (RLU) and 155 (81–291) mU enzyme per 10⁷ cells, respectively; the values for the corresponding drug-free control systems activated with fMLP or fMLP/CB were 22 056 (17 458–23 637) RLU and 1214 (1088–1409) mU per 10⁷ cells. *: p<0.05 for comparison of formoterol with the corresponding drug-free control system.