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A comparative study of sTREM-1, IL-6 and IL-13 concentration in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid in asthma and COPD: A
Małgorzata Proboszcz1, Magdalena Paplińska-Goryca1, Patrycja Nejman-Gryz1
1Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Warsaw, Poland.
Background:
Soluble triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1 (sTREM-1) is a cell-surface receptor presented on neutrophils, macrophages and monocytes. Elevated sTREM-1 levels are a marker of acute microbial infections, and have also been reported in chronic lung diseases. IL-6 and IL-13 are effective markers in distinguishing these diseases. IL-6 has been shown to play an important role in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), while IL-13 is described as one of the key mediators of allergic asthma.
Objectives:
The aim of the study was to evaluate the level of sTREM-1 in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) from stable mild-to-moderate asthma and COPD patients and to compare the utility of BALF sTREM-1 measurements in asthma/COPD differentiation with those of IL-6 and IL-13.
Material And Methods:
The concentration of sTREM-1, IL-6 and IL-13 was evaluated by ELISA in the BALF of stable mild-to-moderate asthma and COPD patients.
Results:
There were no significant differences in BALF sTREM-1 levels between asthma and COPD patients (52.5 pg/mL for asthma vs 73.4 pg/mL for COPD, p = 0.492), in contrast to the differences in the IL6/IL13 ratio (0.68 in COPD, 0.22 in asthma, p = 0.043).
Conclusions:
The study showed that BALF sTREM-1 levels do not discriminate between mild-to-moderate asthma and COPD. In contrast, the IL-6/IL-13 ratio measured in BALF effectively differentiated these two diseases in their stable state. These results suggest that the most important marker of inflammation in mild-to-moderate obstructive lung disease is not microbiology-dependent.
Insights
Soluble triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1 (sTREM-1) does not distinguish asthma from COPD. The IL-6/IL-13 ratio in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid effectively differentiates these obstructive lung diseases.
Area of Science:
- Pulmonary Medicine
- Immunology
- Biomarker Discovery
Background:
- Soluble triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1 (sTREM-1) is elevated in infections and chronic lung diseases.
- Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is implicated in COPD, while IL-13 is key in allergic asthma.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess sTREM-1 levels in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of asthma and COPD patients.
- To compare the diagnostic utility of BALF sTREM-1 with IL-6 and IL-13 for differentiating asthma and COPD.
Main Methods:
- Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to measure sTREM-1, IL-6, and IL-13 concentrations.
- BALF samples were collected from patients with stable mild-to-moderate asthma and COPD.
Main Results:
- No significant difference in BALF sTREM-1 levels was observed between asthma and COPD patients.
- A significant difference in the IL-6/IL-13 ratio was found, with higher values in COPD (0.68) than asthma (0.22).
Conclusions:
- BALF sTREM-1 levels are not effective in discriminating between mild-to-moderate asthma and COPD.
- The IL-6/IL-13 ratio in BALF serves as a reliable biomarker for differentiating stable asthma from COPD.
- Inflammation markers in obstructive lung disease may not be solely dependent on microbiology.
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