Serum levels of resistin in asthmatic children

Bronchial asthma is the most common chronic inflammatory disease of childhood. Macrophages play an important role in the inflammatory process in asthma. Human resistin predominantly present in macrophages. The aim of this study is to determine the serum level of resistin in asthmatic children. The study included 60 children, 45 with asthma and 15 healthy children as controls. They were selected from Chest Disease Clinic and inpatients ward of Department of Pediatrics, Suzan Moubarak Hospital for Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, El-Minia University. Asthmatic children were divided into mild intermittent, mild persistent, and moderate persistent asthma groups. Serum resistin level was assayed by ELIZA technique. The results showed significant higher serum level of resistin in all asthmatic children compared with control group [P < 0.000]. Also there were significant higher levels in mild persistent and moderate persistent asthma compared with control group [P < 0.001] while the difference between mild intermittent asthma and control group was not significant [p > 0.05]. There were significant differences among levels of serum resistin in asthmatic groups with higher level in the more severe groups [P < 0.001]. In all asthmatic children, there was significant positive correlation between serum level of resistin and peripheral blood eosinophils [PBE] count [r = 0.83, p < 0.0001] while significant negative correlation with percentage of predicted value of both FEV[1] and PEF [r = -0.89 and 0.88 respectively, both ps < 0.0001]. There was no relation between resistin serum level and the serum level of lgE in all asthmatic children [r = 0.24, p < 0.1]. We concluded that the serum level of resistin is increased in asthmatic children compared with control. Serum resistin levels increase with increasing disease severity of asthma. Resistin may play a role in inflammatory process in asthmatic children but has no role in allergic reaction in atopic asthma

Peripheral blood eosinophils [PBE] apoptosis and fas expression in asthmatic children

This study included three groups of children with matched age and sex. Group 1 consisted of 25 quick relief-treated asthmatic children [not treated with steroids], group 2 included 28 steroid-treated asthmatic children and group 3 consisted of 20 healthy children. All children were subjected to complete medical history, thorough clinical examination, pulmonary function tests [flow expiratory volume at 1 second [FEV1] and peak expiratory flow rate [PEFR]], absolute peripheral blood eosinophils [PBE] count, assessment of apoptosis and Fas expression of PBE by cytometry. It was concluded that there was a decrease of Fas receptors expression on PBE in quick relief treated asthmatic children, which may results in a delay of PBE apoptosis. The delay of PBE apoptosis may play an important role in the pathogenesis of bronchial asthma. The steroid treated asthmatic children may be associated with higher PBE apoptosis and Fas expression on PBE. The increase of Fas expression on PBE in steroid- treated asthmatic children is not the main mechanism of PBE apoptosis induction and other mechanisms must be considered