Plasma Galectin-3 and urine proteomics predict FEV1 improvement in omalizumab-treated patients with severe allergic asthma: Results from the PROXIMA sub-study

Abstract

Background: Patients with severe allergic asthma (SAA) when treated with omalizumab may exhibit different extent of response. Identifying biomarkers that can predict the extent of treatment effectiveness in patients can be useful in personalizing omalizumab treatment. Methods: Patients from the longitudinal phase of the PROXIMA study were selected for this ancillary study. After 12 months of omalizumab treatment, patients were categorized according to their response to treatment as: "clinical responder" (Asthma Control Questionnaire [ACQ] total score <1 at Month 12 and/or with a reduction in number of exacerbation versus the previous year); "functional responder" (an increment of !0.1 L in forced expiratory volume in 1 s [FEV 1 ] at Month 12 versus baseline); and "super responder" (among clinical responders group, who also showed a functional response). Plasma galectin-3 (GAL-3) levels were quantified using a micro titer platebased enzyme linked immunosorbent assay kit. Results: The Majority of patients (86.36%) in sub-study population were identified as clinical responders. Of the total patients identified as clinical responders, 64.86% were identified as super responders. A statistically significant difference in the baseline plasma GAL-3 levels between responders and non-responders was observed only in the functional responders group (P ¼ 0.0446). Patients with plasma GAL-3 level of !11 ng/mL had a greater probability of being a super responder (P ¼ 0.0118) or a functional responder (P ¼ 0.0032). Conclusion: Our findings support the use of plasma GAL-3 as a predictive marker to stratify responders and identify super responders and functional responders to omalizumab treatment in patients with severe allergic asthma using less invasive sample like plasma.

Shotgun Proteomics of Isolated Urinary Extracellular Vesicles for Investigating Respiratory Impedance in Healthy Preschoolers

“…The ongoing study will expand the internal validity of the current findings. Although the usual application of EVs is for investigating kidney-related diseases, recent studies evidenced that EVs can be used to investigate unrelated urogenital diseases, such as thyroid, bladder and pancreatic cancers [ 14 , 25 ], asthma [ 6 ] and neurological diseases [ 26 ].…”

“…Concerning lung investigations, advances in proteomics have led to the discovery of several new protein markers, allowing the characterization of proteins from both lung tissue and urine which are involved in respiratory diseases [ 4 , 5 , 6 ]. In particular, the fractionation of urine samples allows the isolation of extracellular vesicles, and the characterization of their protein profiles is useful to stratify asthmatic patients by specific biomarkers, such as galectin-3 binding protein [ 6 ]. Urine is becoming one of the most attractive bio-fluids in clinical proteomics because of its high protein and peptide content and also because procuring it is easy and non-invasive [ 7 ].…”

Allergic and eosinophilic asthma in the era of biomarkers and biologics: similarities, differences and misconceptions

“…Proteomic analysis may provide a further approach, with early studies starting to link novel biomarkers from sputum, serum, urine, bronchial fluid, and nasal lavage fluid to patients with asthma. 58,71,72 In addition, there is an emerging area of imaging biomarker assessment to complement the biological and physiological biomarker assessments. 73 Given the complexity and heterogeneity of asthma, and the increasing collection of datasets on potential biomarkers, artificial intelligence (AI), the use of advanced computer systems to perform tasks usually requiring human intelligence, 74 could be explored to aid the identification, stratification, and relevance of a multiple biomarker approach that can predict the likelihood of response with a biologic in future.…”

miR-3934 suppresses basophil apoptosis and secretion of inflammatory cytokines by targeting RAGE in asthma

“…These patients usually need a high dose of controller medication and frequent reliever therapy, and face the risk of acute attack, despite optimized treatment [5]. This makes severe asthma a serious health concern and economic burden globally [6][7][8]. Nevertheless, the mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of asthma are not entirely clear.…”