Journal of Asthma and Allergy (Feb 2022)
Role of Thymus and Activation-Regulated Chemokine in Allergic Asthma
Abstract
Quang Luu Quoc,1 Ji-Young Moon,1 Dong-Hyun Lee,1 Ga-Young Ban,2 Seung-Hyun Kim,3 Hae-Sim Park1 1Department of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, South Korea; 2Department of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine, Kangdong Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University College of Medicine Institute for Life Sciences, Chuncheon, South Korea; 3Translational Research Laboratory for Inflammatory Disease, Clinical Trial Center, Ajou University Medical Center, Suwon, South KoreaCorrespondence: Seung-Hyun KimTranslational Research Laboratory for Inflammatory Disease, Clinical Trial Center, Ajou University Medical Center, Suwon, South Korea, Tel +82 31-219-4264, Fax +82 31-219-4265, Email [email protected] ParkDepartment of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Ajou University School of Medicine, 206 Worldcup-ro, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, 16499, South Korea, Tel +82 31-219-5000, Fax +82 31-219-6380, Email [email protected]: Asthma is a chronic inflammatory airway disease characterized by the predominant infiltration of inflammatory cells in the airways. Thymus and activation-regulated chemokine/C–C motif chemokine 17 (TARC/CCL17) is a chemokine responsible for trafficking T helper 2 cells into sites of allergic inflammation.Objective: To validate the role of TARC in association with clinical and inflammatory parameters in adult asthmatics.Methods: We enrolled 128 asthmatic patients and 70 healthy controls (HCs). Asthma-related clinical and laboratory parameters, including lung function and eosinophil counts, were measured. Serum levels of TARC, free immunoglobulin E (IgE), and eosinophil-derived neurotoxin (EDN) were determined by using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; serum total IgE level was measured using ImmunoCAP. The levels of inflammatory lipid mediators, such as leukotriene E4 (LTE4), 15-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (15-HETE), thromboxane B2 (TXB2), and prostaglandin F2α (PGF2α), were measured by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.Results: Serum TARC levels are significantly higher in asthmatics than in HCs and in allergic asthmatics than in HCs (P < 0.010 for all), with significantly negative correlations between serum TARC levels and FEV1%/MMEF% values (r = − 0.314, r = − 0.268, P < 0.050 for both). The patients with higher serum TARC levels had higher levels of serum total and free IgE levels (P < 0.050 for both) with positive correlations to serum levels of EDN, TXB2, and 15-HETE (r = 0.233, r = 0.264, and r = 0.223, respectively, P < 0.050 for all).Conclusion: We suggest the role of TARC in allergic asthma via contributing to mast cell and eosinophilic inflammation.Keywords: asthma, allergic asthma, thymus and activation-regulated chemokine, IgE, T cells, mast cells, eosinophils
