Endotyping asthma related to 3 different work exposures

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Immunology
• Molecular Biology

Background:

• Work exposures are significant contributors to adult-onset asthma.
• The precise molecular mechanisms underlying work-related asthma remain incompletely understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To elucidate molecular mechanisms of work-related asthma linked to flour, isocyanate, and welding fume exposures.
• To identify potential biomarkers distinguishing these occupational asthma subtypes.

Main Methods:

• Combined clinical tests, transcriptomic analysis, and pathway analyses.
• Investigated blood immune cells and airway epithelium in 61 male subjects.
• Analyzed gene expression patterns and transcriptome-phenotype correlations.

Main Results:

• Welding asthma showed more differentially expressed genes in airway epithelia and blood cells compared to flour and isocyanate asthma.
• Active inflammation was observed in airway epithelia solely in welding asthma patients.
• Suppressed immune functions, including leukocyte migration and inflammatory responses, were noted in blood cells across all asthma groups, with decreased TNF and IFN-γ expression.

Conclusions:

• Novel insights into molecular mechanisms of work-related asthma were provided.
• A panel of 5 genes was identified as promising biomarkers for flour, isocyanate, and welding fume-induced asthma.
• These biomarkers require further clinical validation in future studies.