E-sham E4 EL-sham ICSE4 LABAE4 TT (N/cm2) 3.8 ± 0.3 3.4 ± 0.3 3.7 ± 0.3 4.2 ± 0.4 4.7 ± 0.5§ CT (msec) 35.9 ± 1.6 34.7 ± 1.7 34.2 ± 2.2 31.0 ± 2.2 31.6 ± 1.7 HRT (msec) 43.7 ± 2.6 32.3 ± 3.2** 35.6 ± 2.8 28.8 ± 2.0 36.4 ± 4.4 Fatigue (%) 37.6 ± 1.9 45.9 ± 2.8* 36.0 ± 2.1 35.0 ± 2.1 27.8 ± 3.2† TT/CT (N/cm2/sec) 107.9 ± 9.6 97.3 ± 7.9 107.3 ± 7.8 139.4 ± 11.8† 156.8 ± 25.2†† (TT/2)/HRT (N/cm2/sec) 44.7 ± 3.8 53.7 ± 3.2 51.3 ± 3.8 74.4 ± 5.2††† 73.5 ± 12.4†

E-sham and E4: sham and 4 h after saline + endotoxin injection EL-sham, ICSE4 and LABAE4: sham and 4 h after ICS + endotoxin injection, and 4 h after LABA + endotoxin injection TT, twitch tension; CT, contraction time; HRT, half-relaxation time. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01 compared with E-sham. †p < 0.05, †p < 0.01, †††p < 0.001 compared with EL-sham.

Table 2: Changes in twitch kinetics in the endotoxin injection groups (E-sham and E4), and in the endotoxin injection plus ICS or LABA inhalation groups (EL-sham, ICSE4, and LABAE4)