Clinical Implication of Sputum CXCL13 in Children with Asthma

Abstract

RATIONALE: CXCL13 is a chemokine which is known as a CXCR5 ligand, and also guides B lymphocytes to follicles in secondary lymphoid organs. IgE mediated allergic inflammation plays a key role in the pathogenesis of asthma, which brings to light the importance of IgE producing B lymphocyte. We investigated the clinical significance of sputum CXCL13 and its association with pulmonary function, bronchial hyperresponsiveness and eosinophilc inflammation in childhood asthma.METHODS: We analyzed 160 children between 5 to 10 years of age. Pulmonary function tests and methacholine challenge tests were performed in all subjects. Blood eosinophil count, serum total IgE, serum eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) and sputum eosinophil count, ECP and CXCL13 were measured in all subjects.RESULTS: There were 80 (54 male, 26 female;mean age, 8.3 ± 2.3 years) asthmatics and 80 (44 male, 36 female;mean age, 9.3 ± 2.5 years) controls. There were no differences in age and sex between the two groups. Asthmatic children had significantly higher levels of CXCL13 in induced sputum (112.01 ± 276.70 pg/mL) compared to healthy children (21.47 ± 25.18 pg/mL; P = .004). No associations were found between sputum CXCL13 and blood eosinophil count, sputum eosinophil count, serum ECP, sputum ECP, pulmonary function and bronchial hyperresponsiveness.CONCLUSIONS: Our findings show that sputum CXCL13 may play a role in the pathogenesis of childhood asthma, independent of eosinophilic inflammation. Sputum CXCL13 could be one of the objective index in the diagnosis of asthma. RATIONALE: CXCL13 is a chemokine which is known as a CXCR5 ligand, and also guides B lymphocytes to follicles in secondary lymphoid organs. IgE mediated allergic inflammation plays a key role in the pathogenesis of asthma, which brings to light the importance of IgE producing B lymphocyte. We investigated the clinical significance of sputum CXCL13 and its association with pulmonary function, bronchial hyperresponsiveness and eosinophilc inflammation in childhood asthma. METHODS: We analyzed 160 children between 5 to 10 years of age. Pulmonary function tests and methacholine challenge tests were performed in all subjects. Blood eosinophil count, serum total IgE, serum eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) and sputum eosinophil count, ECP and CXCL13 were measured in all subjects. RESULTS: There were 80 (54 male, 26 female;mean age, 8.3 ± 2.3 years) asthmatics and 80 (44 male, 36 female;mean age, 9.3 ± 2.5 years) controls. There were no differences in age and sex between the two groups. Asthmatic children had significantly higher levels of CXCL13 in induced sputum (112.01 ± 276.70 pg/mL) compared to healthy children (21.47 ± 25.18 pg/mL; P = .004). No associations were found between sputum CXCL13 and blood eosinophil count, sputum eosinophil count, serum ECP, sputum ECP, pulmonary function and bronchial hyperresponsiveness. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings show that sputum CXCL13 may play a role in the pathogenesis of childhood asthma, independent of eosinophilic inflammation. Sputum CXCL13 could be one of the objective index in the diagnosis of asthma.