American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Feb 2023
Letter Randomized Controlled TrialA Pilot RCT of an Intervention to Improve Perception of Lung Function in Older Adults with Asthma.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Feb 2023
Skeletal Muscle Adiposity and Lung Function Trajectory in the Severe Asthma Research Program (SARP).
Rationale: Extrapulmonary manifestations of asthma, including fatty infiltration in tissues, may reflect systemic inflammation and influence lung function and disease severity. Objectives: To determine if skeletal muscle adiposity predicts lung function trajectory in asthma. Methods: Adult SARP III (Severe Asthma Research Program III) participants with baseline computed tomography imaging and longitudinal postbronchodilator FEV1% predicted (median follow-up 5 years [1,132 person-years]) were evaluated. ⋯ Conclusions: Participants with asthma have lower PSMD, reflecting greater muscle fat infiltration. Baseline PSMD predicted lung function decline among women with asthma but not men. These data support an important role of metabolic dysfunction in lung function decline.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Feb 2023
Low CC16 mRNA Expression Levels in Bronchial Epithelial Cells Are Associated with Asthma Severity.
Rationale: CC16 is a protein mainly produced by nonciliated bronchial epithelial cells (BECs) that participates in host defense. Reduced CC16 protein concentrations in BAL and serum are associated with asthma susceptibility. Objectives: Few studies have investigated the relationship between CC16 and asthma progression, and none has focused on BECs. ⋯ A combination of two nontraditional T2 biomarkers (CC16 and IL-6) revealed four asthma endotypes with different characteristics of T2 inflammation, obesity, and asthma severity. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that low CC16 mRNA expression levels in BECs are associated with asthma susceptibility, severity, and exacerbations, partially through immunomodulation of T2 inflammation. CC16 is a potential nontraditional T2 biomarker for asthma development and progression.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Feb 2023
Heterogeneity of Airway Smooth Muscle Remodelling in Asthma.
Rationale: Ventilatory defects in asthma are heterogeneous and may represent the distribution of airway smooth muscle (ASM) remodeling. Objectives: To determine the distribution of ASM remodeling in mild-severe asthma. Methods: The ASM area was measured in nine airway levels in three bronchial pathways in cases of nonfatal (n = 30) and fatal asthma (n = 20) and compared with control cases without asthma (n = 30). ⋯ Using mean data, 44% of all asthma cases were classified as having no ASM remodeling in either the large or small airway despite a three- to 10-fold increase in the number of airways with ASM remodeling and 81% of asthma cases having ASM remodeling in at least one large and small airway. Conclusions: ASM remodeling is related to asthma severity but is heterogeneous within and between individuals and may contribute to the heterogeneous functional defects observed in asthma. These findings support the need for patient-specific targeting of ASM remodeling.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Feb 2023
Plasticity of Individual Lung Function States from Childhood to Adulthood.
Rationale: Recent evidence highlights the importance of optimal lung development during childhood for health throughout life. Objectives: To explore the plasticity of individual lung function states during childhood. Methods: Prebronchodilator FEV1 z-scores determined at age 8, 16, and 24 years in the Swedish population-based birth cohort BAMSE (Swedish abbreviation for Child [Barn], Allergy, Milieu, Stockholm, Epidemiological study) (N = 3,069) were used. ⋯ The very low state as well as growth failure were associated with respiratory symptoms, airflow limitation, and small airway dysfunction at adulthood. Proteomics identified IL-6 and CXCL10 (C-X-C motif chemokine 10) as potential biomarkers of impaired lung function development. Conclusions: Individual lung function states during childhood are plastic, including catch-up and growth failure.