Mannose-binding lectin 2 gene polymorphisms and predisposition to allergic bronchial asthma in a western Romanian children population: an observational study.

OBJECTIVES: To analyse: (1) the associations between different mannose-binding lectin 2 (MBL2) genotypes and susceptibility to bronchial asthma (BA) in Romanian children; and (2) the correlations between several patient sociodemographic variables and MBL2 polymorphisms. METHODS: This prospective observational case-control study included paediatric patients with symptomatic BA and healthy controls. Participants were genotyped for two MBL2 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs): exon 1 codon 54 A/B variant rs1800450, and -550 promoter H/L variant rs11003125 (GenBank accession). Associations between MBL2 genotypes and susceptibility to BA were determined by calculated odds ratios, and Kendall Tau's correlations were used to investigate the associations between sociodemographic variables and SNPs. RESULTS: Among 59 patients with BA and 65 healthy controls, associations between MBL2 polymorphisms and susceptibility to BA were not found to be statistically significant. Statistically significant weak positive correlations were found between age at diagnosis and A/B genotype, and between the smoking status of biologically male and female parents. A statistically significant weak inverse association was found between male parent smoking status and family history of BA. CONCLUSION: These results may help guide future research into paediatric BA in Romania and Eastern Europe. Due to study limitations, the results require validation in future large-scale studies.

Clinical Relevance of Plasma Concentrations of MBL in Accordance with IgE Levels in Children Diagnosed with Bronchial Asthma.

Background and objectives: Bronchial asthma is a heterogeneous, multifactorial pulmonary disease characterized by variable airway obstruction caused by chronic inflammation. Our study investigates the clinical relevance of MBL plasma levels in accordance with IgE values in children who attended a pediatric consult for respiratory symptoms with bronchial asthma. Materials and Methods: The study population consists of patients <18-years-old and included 43 patients with bronchial asthma and 64 age-matched healthy subjects as a control group. We used the ELISA Human MBL Immunoassay kit and the electrochemiluminescence immunoassay (ECLIA) kit for IgE determination. Results: Our results show significantly different distributions of patients in the bronchial asthma group and control group. The measured values were within the normal range for most controls, while the bronchial asthma patients displayed higher values of plasma MBL and IgE levels. We observed a wider heterogeneity in MBL concentrations in bronchial asthma patients when compared to the healthy age-matched controls. Our results also suggest a potential clinical usefulness of plasma MBL concentrations in accordance with IgE and eosinophil cells levels in the diagnosis of bronchial asthma, and our results may suggest a prognostic role of MBL in the evolution of asthmatic disease; however, further studies are necessary to confirm these findings. Conclusions:We can say that plasma MBL concentrations present a relative diagnostic role for bronchial asthma in pediatric patients and may suggest a more severe disease progression; however, further studies are needed to elucidate the role played by MBL in the determination and evolution of this disease.

Genetic Polymorphism of MBL 2 in Patients with Allergic Bronchial Asthma.

Mannose-binding lectin (MBL) belongs to a family of glycoproteins called lectins or collectins, which possess many of the functional features of immunoglobulins. Mannose-binding lectin is a very important component of the innate immune system, which recognizes distinct pathogens and activates the classical path of the complement-fixation method. In humans, the serum levels of collectins vary widely, and their variability is correlated with susceptibility and resistance to infection and other diseases. Recent studys show that MBL gene polymorphism is involved in the pathogenesis of many diseases, including infectious and allergic illnesses. Our study aims to determine the role of MBL polymorphism in children diagnosed with allergic bronchial asthma, especially in acute episodes. We conclude that MBL2 gene polymorphism is associated with atopy, allergic diseases and acute respiratory tract infections with MBL deficiency in early childhood. In terms of genetic polymorphism, most of the studied alleles were type A, these being the most frequently present in the studied groups, while alleles B, C or D have been explored to a lesser extent. Studies are also required for adult patients with allergic and atopic conditions, because so far, most of the research has been done on pediatric population only.