Periostin Levels do not Distinguish Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients With Frequent and Infrequent Exacerbations.
Periostin, a multifunctional matricelluar protein, has been
reported to be an excellent predictor of airway eosinophilia.
Eosinophilic inflammation within the airways is usually considered as
a hallmark of patients with asthma and it was found that
the exacerbation rate was significantly
reduced in patients with high levels of periostin.
While, to date, most studies have focused on periostin in asthma, its
role in COPD is less clear and no information has been
reported on blood levels of periostin in COPD patients
in the context of exacerbation rates.
However, recent publications focused on the important role of eosinophils and
their association with exacerbation rate. Moreover, COPD patients with
elevated eosinophil counts also had an increased risk of exacerbations.
A recent publication implied that high blood
eosinophils and high plasma periostin were associated with improved lung
function three months after starting treatment with
inhaled corticosteroids in combination with a long acting bronchodilator.
These data suggest that periostin may serve as a biomarker in
COPD patients. As such, this exploratory study aimed to gain insight whether
periostin is helpful to distinguish between
COPD patients with frequent and infrequent exacerbations.
We performed an examination of patients with COPD
participating in a COPD cohort
study from seven pulmonary clinics in Switzerland. The
cantonal ethics committee of Zurich approved the study
and patients provided written informed consent.
Periostin levels were determined in serum
samples by using a commercially available ELISA kit. COPD
severity was
defined according to GOLD guidelines. Patients
underwent evaluation of
clinical symptoms including exacerbation rate and lung function.
Pulm Res Respir Med Open J. 2016; 3(2): 33-36. doi: 10.17140/PRRMOJ-3-129
