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The role of serum nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 in childhood bronchial asthma
Eman Refaat Youness1, Mones Shady2, Maysa Samir Nassar2
1Medical Biochemistry, National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt.
Insights
Low serum levels of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2) are linked to childhood asthma and predict disease severity. This antioxidant deficiency may play a role in asthma development and progression.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Pulmonology
- Biochemistry
- Molecular Medicine
Background:
- Childhood asthma is a prevalent chronic airway disease.
- Poorly controlled asthma is often associated with deficiencies in antioxidants.
- Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2) is a key regulator of antioxidant responses.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between serum NRF2 levels and bronchial asthma in Egyptian children.
- To determine the relationship between NRF2 and the severity of childhood asthma.
Main Methods:
- A case-control study involving 60 asthmatic children and 60 healthy controls (ages 6-16).
- Asthma severity was categorized as mild, moderate, or severe.
- Serum levels of NRF2, superoxide-dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GPX) were measured.
Main Results:
- Asthmatic children exhibited significantly lower serum NRF2 and GPX levels compared to controls.
- Children with severe asthma showed significantly lower serum NRF2 and GPX levels than those with mild or moderate asthma.
- Lower serum NRF2 was identified as a significant predictor of asthma severity (OR = 0.749).
Conclusions:
- The pathogenesis of childhood asthma may involve reduced serum NRF2 levels.
- NRF2 deficiency is a potential biomarker for predicting asthma severity in children.
- Further research into NRF2's role could inform novel therapeutic strategies for childhood asthma.
Abstract:
Background: Asthma is one of the most common chronic airway disease of childhood. Poor asthma control has been associated with antioxidant deficiencies. Objective: To assess the association of bronchial asthma in Egyptian children with serum nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor2 (NRF2) and its relation to disease severity. Subjects and methods: The study included 60 asthmatic children with comparable 60 controls (age ranged from 6-16 years). Subjects were classified according to the severity of asthma into mild or moderate asthma in group I, and severe asthma in group II. Antioxidant markers including superoxide-dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and NRF2 were assessed once in blood and serum of both subjects and controls. Results: Mean serum NRF2 and GPX were significantly lower in asthmatic group than controls group (26.36 ± 4.18 pg/mL and 5.76 ± 0.81 mU/mL vs 29.05 ± 3.87 and 6.23 ± 0.97 respectively, p < 0.05). No significant difference was detected regarding SOD (p > 0.05). In severe bronchial asthma, mean serum NRF2 and GPX were significantly lower than in mild and moderate asthma (24.29 ± 1.86 pg/mL and 5.56 ± 0.67 mU/mL vs 27.95 ± 4.77 and 6.03 ± 0.90 respectively, p < 0.05). No significant difference was found in SOD regarding severity of bronchial asthma. Low NRF2 was the only predictor of the severity of bronchial asthma (OR = 0.749 and 95% CI 0.595 - 0.942). Conclusion: The pathogenesis of childhood bronchial asthma may be associated with low serum NRF2 which may be a strong predictor of the disease severity.
