Effect of Mepolizumab on Severe Eosinophilic Asthma
AsthmaEosinophilic AsthmaTwo parts: A:Case-control study including 15 healthy adult donors and 15 severe adult eosinophilic asthmatics selected for treatment with mepolizumab. B: A longitudinal cohort study,where the same patients once on mepolizumab treatment are followed over time (0, 4, 16 and 32 weeks). SCOPE: response to mepolizumab in severe adult eosinophilic asthma. INCLUSION CRITERIA: Male or female, 18-75 years-old, with severe eosinophilic asthma. EXCLUSION CRITERIA: Smoking history, recent exacerbations, other pulmonary or systemic disease with eosinophilia, malignancy, pregnancy, obesity (BMI >35). OBJECTIVES: General objective: Discovery of predictive/prognostic biomarkers of response to mepolizumab using flow cytometry, transcriptomic, and proteomic technologies. OTHER OBJECTIVES: 1.-To identify changes in surface markers of eosinophils and eosinophil subpopulations in response to treatment with mepolizumab using flow cytometry techniques. 2.-Transcriptomic analysis to identify mRNAs within the eosinophil transcriptome displaying enhanced or reduced levels in response to treatment with mepolizumab.3.-Proteomic profiling to identify proteins with differential abundance within the eosinophils in response to treatment with mepolizumab.4.-Check whether late-onset severe eosinophilic asthmatics display elevated levels of IGF-1, IGF-BP3, IGF-ALS in serum samples, if the response of mepolizumab depends on the levels of this markers, and if treatment with this biological reduces the concentration in serum of these IGF-family members. 5.-Identify proteins with differential abundance within the deep serum proteome of patients with SEA in response to treatment with mepolizumab by means of non-targeted proteomic analysis. MEASUREMENTS: Flow cytometry assays with multimarker panels 1 (regulatory), 2 (activation), and 3 eosinophil subsets. Clinical, hematological, biochemical and flow cytometry data generated at times T4, T16 and T32. Total RNA extraction from eosinophil lysates, assay of quality and quantity of RNA, and storage at -80ºC. Evaluation of the levels of 770 human protein-coding mRNAs linked to the recruitment, activation, and effector functions of myeloid cells by means of a direct multiplexed molecular measurement platform named nCounter® NanoString) in combination with a pre-made "nCounter® Human Myeloid Innate Immunity Panel (v2)". Perform retrotranscription and qPCR analyses of those mRNAs in eosinophils displaying the greatest abundance changes in response to mepolizumab treatment according to the nCounter® study. In addition, some additional mRNAs not included in the "nanoString Myeloid Innate Immunity" panel, such as FOXP3 (regulatory function), CRLF2, ST2, or IL-7R (cytokine receptors; activation), will be analysed. HPRT1 gene will be used as a house-keeping gene in this set of RTqPCR experiments. Perform SWATH-MS analysis in samples from 15 healthy donors and 15 patients (T0, T4, T16, T32) ("information-dependent acquisition" method or IDA; "Targeted label-free proteomics") in eosinophil homogenates. High abundant serum protein depletion using two protocols (P1: affinity chromatography, and P2: DTT precipitation) and SWATH-MS analysis of medium-low abundant serum proteome in samples from 15 healthy donors and 15 patients (T0, T4, T16, T32) ("information-dependent acquisition" method or IDA; "Targeted label-free proteomics").
Microbiome and Exacerbations in Neutrophilic Asthma
AsthmaMicrobiome1 moreNeutrophilic asthma (NA) is the least known severe asthma phenotype. It is associated with more exacerbations, worse control and impaired lung function. One of its possible etiologies is bronchial infections. The study of bronchial microbiology and its relationship with exacerbations is a new line of research. Objectives: 1) To analyze bronchial microbiome in patients with AN and non-neutrophilic (ANN), with frequent exacerbations and without exacerbations. 2) To relate the presence of bronchial infections with differences in the microbiome. 3) Correlate the characteristics of the microbiome with other evidence used in exacerbations. Methods: Prospective study involving 40 non-smoking asthmatics without bronchiectasis (20 with AN and 20 with ANN). Of these, 10 in each group will have frequent exacerbations (>2 rounds of systemic steroids in the last year, of >3 days each) and 10 non- frequent exacerbations. AN will be defined as >65% neutrophils in stable phase sputum. All patients will have two stable visits in which clinical variables, asthma control, lung function and induced sputum samples will be collected (for analysis of bronchial inflammatory cell count and for the study of the microbiome by 16 subunit rRNA). Specific Immunoglobulin A (IgA) for Chlamydia Pneumoniae will be determined. In exacerbations, sputum samples will be collected for culture and nasopharyngeal smears for the study of major respiratory viruses and bacteria by multiple polymerase chain reaction.
Asthma in Pregnancy
AsthmaPregnancyThe long-term goal is to improve the care of patients with asthma. The overarching objective of this pilot grant is to test the feasibility, acceptability and potential clinical utility of deploying a mobile-health intervention to improve asthma surveillance.
Severe Asthma Exacerbations and Mepolizumab Treatment
Severe AsthmaThis is a hypothesis-generating project to investigate a) infective etiology and b) inflammatory profile of the exacerbations of asthma in severe asthmatic patients treated with the humanized monoclonal antibody against interleukin-5 Mepolizumab. Under these treatment conditions the study will inform on the relationship between these two axes: infection & innate immunity Vs inflammatory profile changes occurring during exacerbation events. In addition, the study will also explore the effect of Mepolizumab treatment on airway microbial composition and on airway/systemic immune response both at stable state and at the exacerbation.
Consequences of COVID 19 Pandemic on Childhood Asthma
Asthma in ChildrenThe SARS-CoV2 pandemic, which emerged in the first quarter of 2020, has led to an unprecedented health crisis in our modern healthcare systems and has resulted in strong national public health measures. The impact of the pandemic and its indirect environmental consequences on pediatric asthma is currently being assessed. In particular, the study of its role on the risk of exacerbations and modification of control is one of the priority research objectives defined by European societies. The primary aim is to study the impact of the pandemic on asthma control in children aged 3-16 years with a medical diagnosis of asthma, compared to data from other observational cohorts conducted in the same region prior to the pandemic. A sub-population of children 3-16 years will be assessed at exacerbation and at a follow-up visit, 2-4 months later, with clinical data, biological and microbiological samples.
Pilot Study to Identify the Mediators and Inflammatory Cell Surface Receptors Involved in Allergic...
AsthmaAsthma is a heterogeneous disorder in which multiple potential inflammatory pathways contribute to airway obstruction. The biological basis for airway inflammation is the subject of intensive investigation. This work is designed to identify airway factors that are responsible for recruiting cells and associate their airway presence with atopy and asthma.
Evidence Driven Indoor Air Quality Improvement
Asthma in ChildrenPollution; ExposureThe aim is to identify the underlying disease mechanisms driving specific asthma phenotypes as well as certain disease outcomes and their relation to impaired indoor air quality. This may also help in underpinning specific target mechanisms in order to personalize and improve current treatment options in childhood asthma and develop more successful prevention strategies. This will be done by combining data from detailed clinical phenotyping with multiple -omics data.
Diagnostic and Translational Values of Point-of-care Blood Eosinophils and Exhaled Nitric Oxide...
AsthmaAsthma in Children2 moreAsthma is characterised by episodic symptoms (attacks) caused by airway inflammation and decreased airflow to the lungs. It affects 10% of the Canadian population and is the most common chronic disease in childhood. Despite its burden and its potential to be life-threatening, establishing the diagnosis takes time due to difficulty in accessing specialised breathing tests. Indeed, the current diagnostic strategy relies on a breathing test (spirometry) and, if non-diagnostic, a subsequent more complicated breathing test conducted in hospitals (a bronchial provocation test). Our dependence on the latter test must be confronted to the bottleneck created by our reliance on it and the difficulty to do these tests in children. Furthermore, within the current framework, people receiving a diagnosis do not know if they have active airway inflammation - a key feature with predicts increased susceptibility to asthma attacks and treatment responsiveness. Our study's goal is to validate clinically accessible and useful diagnostic tests for peoplesuspected to have asthma. Specifically, we are interested in alternative tests that are a) achievable outside the hospital; b) useful markers of airway inflammation/risk c) can identify people at with a higher likelihood of responding to anti-inflammatory therapy. The two tests we are mainly interested in are: Exhaled nitric oxide (measured with a portable handheld machine) The blood eosinophil count (obtained on a general blood test) +/- Other tests which we might be able to develop within this cohort (e.g. urine tests)
Respiratory Registry for Lung Health: a Prospective, Observational Study on Adult Patients With...
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary DiseaseAsthmaThe database will contain a wide range of demographic, clinical, radiological, laboratory, functional, microbiological, treatment, and clinical outcomes data on adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma enrolled during stable state with annual follow-up (either one or two-year follow up). Primary Objective: To collect clinical (including quality of life measurements), laboratory (including non-invasive measurement of biomarkers), microbiological, radiological, functional, treatment variables and clinical outcomes, in adult patients with either asthma or COPD during stable state. Secondary Objectives: To identify genetic and other omics patterns to develop phenotype handprints for adults with either asthma or COPD. To characterize the airways microbiome in stable patients with either asthma or COPD and identify correlation with clinical phenotypes and/or endotypes.
A Trial Evaluating Novel Technologies for the Diagnosis of Asthma The LUNG-TECH Trial
AsthmaThis trial aims to evaluate novel diagnostic technologies for asthma in 3 different pathways providing the necessary evidence-base to allow adoption into clinical practice: Pathway 1 evaluates whether the technology can distinguish between people with asthma and healthy volunteers, and other respiratory conditions in a well characterised secondary-care population and whether the parameters they measure correlate with the current standard diagnostic tests; Pathway 2 assesses whether the technology can accurately diagnose asthma (either independently or alongside current diagnostic tests) in a primary care population of patients where there is a clinical suspicion of asthma; Pathway 3 explores the ability of the technology to identify clinically important phenotypic characteristics which are difficult to measure in primary care and/or significantly impact on patient management and treatment The novel technology and devices will be entered into the pathway most suited to their stage of development, with this study design also allowing information collected for participants with a confirmed diagnosis of asthma in pathways 1 or 2 to be included in pathway 3. Participants will undergo the investigations currently used to diagnose asthma as well as using the novel devices being investigated in the relevant pathway.