Is CCL18 a potential biomarker of type-2 asthma endotypes?

Objective: This exploratory cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate the associations between the chemokine ligand 18 (CCL18) blood level and phenotypic characteristics of asthma. Methods: We evaluated in a sample of 173 asthmatic adult patients from the Cohort of Bronchial obstruction and Asthma (63.4% women; median age 50 +/- interquartile range 27.5 years; median level of CCL18 was 44.1 +/- interquartile range 27.5 ng/mL) the association between CCL18 blood level and allergic features of asthma using a multivariate analysis. Results: We found an association between the log-transformed value of blood CCL18 and age (+0.7% [0.1; 1.3] per 1-year increase, p = 0.033), gender (-25.1% [-42; -3.2] in women, p = 0.029), and nasal polyposis (+38.1% [11.6; 70.9], p = 0.004). No association was observed between CCL18 level and the other main phenotypic characteristics of asthma. Conclusions: Our exploratory study suggests that CCL18 is not an effective biomarker of allergic asthma endotype but may rather be a biomarker of tissue eosinophilia as supported by its association with nasal polyposis.

Automated summary

This exploratory study suggests that CCL18 may not be an effective biomarker for allergic asthma endotype, but may be associated with tissue eosinophilia.