Serum apelin-12 level is elevated in schoolchildren with atopic asthma

Abstract

There are limited data on the role of adipokines in atopic asthma. To determine serum level of apelin-12 (APE-12) in asthmatic children in relation to BMI and gender. Serum APE-12 levels were measured using ELISA in 89 asthmatic children (61 boys and 28 girls, aged 7.0-17.0 years) and in 33 healthy children. Among examined asthmatics 59 (19 girls and 40 boys) had normal weight and 30 (9 girls and 21 boys) were obese. The mean serum levels of APE-12 were significantly (p<0.001) higher both in obese (174.1±5.9pg/mL) and non-obese asthmatic children (171.0±4.0pg/mL) than in healthy children (130.6±2.1pg/mL), regardless of gender. No relationships between examined the adipokine level and asthma severity, spirometric parameters, degree of allergic sensitization, BMI, BMI-SDS were observed. Increased serum level of APE-12 suggests that this adipokine may be implicated in the pathogenesis of childhood atopic asthma.