Circulating fibrocytes correlate with the asthma control test score

Area of Science:

• Immunology
• Respiratory Medicine
• Cell Biology

Background:

• Bronchial asthma involves airway inflammation and remodelling, leading to reduced lung function.
• Fibrocytes, bone marrow-derived progenitor cells, contribute to airway remodelling in asthma.
• Current asthma therapy assessment includes rescue inhaler use and asthma control test scores.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between circulating fibrocytes and asthma control.
• To determine if fibrocytes can serve as a biomarker for clinical control in bronchial asthma.

Main Methods:

• Assessed circulating fibrocytes (CD45(+)Collagen I(+)) via flow cytometry in 20 asthma patients and 7 healthy controls.
• Correlated fibrocyte counts with lung function parameters (FEV1, FVC) and asthma control metrics (rescue inhaler use, asthma control test).

Main Results:

• Asthma patients, particularly those with moderate to severe disease, showed significantly increased circulating fibrocytes compared to controls.
• Circulating fibrocytes were inversely correlated with lung function (FEV1, FVC) and asthma control test scores.
• Increased fibrocytes also correlated inversely with the frequency of short-acting β2-agonist use.

Conclusions:

• Circulating fibrocytes are elevated in asthma patients and inversely correlate with clinical control parameters.
• Measuring circulating fibrocytes may offer a relevant biomarker for assessing clinical control in bronchial asthma.
• These findings support the role of fibrocytes in asthma pathogenesis and their potential as a monitoring tool.