| Popis: |
Allergic inflammation in asthma triggers neuronal dysfunction and structural changes in diseased airways via neurogenic inflammation. This process involves changes in neuronal excitability, increased secretion of neuromediators (neurotrophins, neuropeptides, neurokines) and central sensitization. We aimed to investigate if mRNA expression level of genes associated with neurogenic airway inflammation is altered in asthmatic children. Methods: In the analysis we included 25 asthmatic patients, aged between 6-16 years. Asthma diagnosis was made according to GINA 2006 guidelines at least 6 months before inclusion in the study. The control group consisted of 15 healthy children without symptoms of allergy and asthma. The expression of 31 genes associated with neurogenic inflammation from peripheral blood leukocytes was analyzed with use of TaqMan Low Density Array method. As an endogenous control we used an assay specific for 18S rRNA gene. The verification on protein level was performed using ELISA. Results: We found that expression of two genes ( HRH4, MAP3K1 ) showed significant differences in expression level between asthmatic patients and control group (p-values of 0.002 and 0.0002, respectively; and fold-change value of 31 and 28, respectively). These genes were further tested on protein level. For both genes, we observed increased protein levels in asthmatic patients in comparison to the control group (p=0.0001 for HRH4 and p=0.008 for MAPK3K1). Conclusion: Increased levels of HRH4 and MAPK3K1 genes involved in neurogenic inflammation indicate association with allergic asthma. The study was supported by the Polish National Science Centre, grant no. 2011/01/D/NZ5/02771. |
