PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Yoshihiro Kanemitsu
AU  - Isao Ito
AU  - Akio Niimi
AU  - Kenji Izuhara
AU  - Shoichiro Ohta
AU  - Junya Ono
AU  - Toshiyuki Iwata
AU  - Tsuyoshi Oguma
AU  - Tomoko Tajiri
AU  - Tadao Nagasaki
AU  - Yumi Izuhara
AU  - Hisako Matsumoto
AU  - Michiaki Mishima
TI  - Osteopontin and periostin in bronchial tissue associate with a 20-year decline of pulmonary function in asthmatics
DP  - 2014 Sep 01
TA  - European Respiratory Journal
PG  - P2043
VI  - 44
IP  - Suppl 58
4099  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/44/Suppl_58/P2043.short
4100  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/44/Suppl_58/P2043.full
SO  - Eur Respir J2014 Sep 01; 44
AB  - Rationale: Osteopontin and periostin are independently increased in asthmatic airways in response to Th2-driven inflammation and contribute to subepithelial fibrosis.Objectives: To determine whether the expression levels of osteopontin, periostin, or other factors are involved in the decline of long-standing pulmonary function by examining their expression in bronchial biopsy specimens collected at the time of initial evaluation in patients with asthma.Methods: Twenty asthmatics who underwent bronchoscopy between 1990 and 1995 participated in this study. Final evaluation follow-up was done in 2012. Using biopsy samples, immunohistochemistry including osteopontin-expressing cells and deposition of periostin were evaluated. Associations of annual change in forced expiratory volume in one second (ΔFEV1) with histological or clinical indices were analyzed.Measurements and Results: Median follow-up period was 20.3 (SD 1.3) years after bronchial biopsy, and the average ΔFEV1 was -19.1 (SD 30.8) mL/year. The numbers of osteopontin-positive cells (p = 0.004), CD8 T-lymphocytes (p = 0.01), and eosinophils (p = 0.04), and the amount of periostin deposition (p = 0.001) in bronchial subepithelium were associated with ΔFEV1. Multivariate stepwise analysis revealed that both osteopontin (p = 0.04) and periostin (p = 0.0497) independently affected ΔFEV1. Expression levels of osteopontin and periostin were related to the number of eosinophils (p = 0.04 and p = 0.047) and the expression of α smooth muscle actin (p = 0.01 and p = 0.0002).Conclusion: Increased expression levels of these proteins in asthmatic airways was related to an accelerated decline in FEV1 over a long-term period.