Association between serum zonulin level and severity of house dust mite allergic asthma

Abstract

Background: Increased intestinal permeability, either due to the exposure to antigens in asthmatic patients or due to a barrier defect, play a critical role in susceptibility to environmental allergens. House dust mites allergy occurs more commonly than any other allergens among Egyptian asthmatic patients.Aim:To assess the relation between serum zonulin level as a marker of increased intestinal permeability and the severity of house dust mites allergic asthma.Methods:A case control study which included 48 house dust mites allergic asthma and 48 healthy control subjects attending the allergy and immunology unit, microbiology and immunology department, Faculty of medicine, Zagazig University. Results:On comparing the 2 studied groups, there was a statistically significant difference between the 2 groups concerning serum IgE and serum zonulin levels ( p=0.000, 0.000 respectively)The mean serum zonulin was equal to 258.3±153.01 ng/ml in the asthmatic group and 80±13 ng/ml in the control group. Serum zonulin level significantly increased with the increase of asthma severity (p˂0.001). The cut off value of serum zonulin was ≥ 198 ng/ml, and the area under the curve was 0.76. It displayed sensitivity equal to 80% and specificity equal to 71.4%. Its negative predictive value was equal to 83.3%. Conclusion: Intestinal barrier dysfunction contributes in the pathogenesis of allergic asthma. Serum zonulin level reflects an increase in intestinal permeability and acts as prognostic factor of severity in Asthma. Correction of the gut barrier defect may be an additional novel approach for Asthma.

Zonulin and claudin‐5 levels in multisystem inflammatory syndrome and SARS‐CoV‐2 infection in children

“…In many studies, it has been reported that serum zonulin level is high in diseases with increased intestinal permeability. 20,21,25 In the study of Yonker et al, 12 in which only zonulin levels were evaluated, similar to our study, serum zonulin levels were found to be significantly higher in the MIS-C group when compared with the controls.…”

“…18 The relationship between serum levels of these molecules and intestinal permeability has been described in various diseases including inflammatory bowel diseases, coeliac disease, allergic asthma, obsessive-compulsive disorder and attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder. [19][20][21][22][23] While there are not enough studies in the literature about intestinal permeability in the pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 infection and MIS-C, here we aimed to evaluate intestinal permeability in these diseases.…”

“… 18 The relationship between serum levels of these molecules and intestinal permeability has been described in various diseases including inflammatory bowel diseases, coeliac disease, allergic asthma, obsessive‐compulsive disorder and attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder. 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 …”

Heat-killed Akkermansia muciniphila ameliorates allergic airway inflammation in mice

“…SCFAs can play crucial roles in promoting goblet cell differentiation, mucus production, and tight junction protein expression in colon crypts, which in turn stabilizes epithelial integrity and improves intestinal barrier function (Rooks and Garrett, 2016;Martin-Gallausiaux et al, 2021). Notably, intestinal barrier dysfunction contributes to the onset of symptoms in patients with HDM AA (Baioumy et al, 2021). Moreover, the relative abundance of the Lachnospiraceae_NK4A136_ group is negatively correlated with intestinal barrier dysfunction and inflammation in a mouse model of dextran sodium sulfate-induced colitis (Li et al, 2020).…”