Bronchmial asthma is cinsidered an inflammatory disease. The mediators participating in the inflammatory process include kinins. The aim of the present study was to evaluate kinin system in patients with bronchial asthma directly after the establishment of the diagnosis. The investigations were performed in 21 patients with bronchial asthma as well as in 22 healthy volunteers. The plasma obtained from study subjects was used to determine the activity of prekallikrein (with photometry, test C manufactured by Chromogenix) and the activity of C1 inhibitor (following the method designed by Behring company) with the use of chromogenic substrates. When compared with healthy subjects, the patients with bronchial asthma displayed statistically significantly lower activity of prekallikrein (p < 0.01) and C1 inhibitor (p < 0.001). Study results indicate that reduced activity of prekallikrein and C1 inhibitor in patients with bronchial asthma is the consequence of their consumption in the process of kinin activation in the course of inflammation.
key words: prekallikrein • C1 inhibitor • bronchial asthma

Keywords: bronchial asthma, C1 inhibitor, Prekallikrein