Periostin as a marker of eosinophilic inflammation in patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

BACKGROUND: Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are common chronic respiratory diseases. Given their heterogeneity, the study of periostin is a relevant area for establishing the endotypes of airway inflammation and determining further therapy tactics. AIM: To evaluate periostin levels and determine its significance as a marker of eosinophilic inflammation in patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study included 59 patients with asthma and 33 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The control group consisted of 37 apparently healthy people, comparable in age and sex, without allergic and bronchial obstructive diseases in anamnesis. The anamnesis data, the number of peripheral blood eosinophils and induced sputum, indices of external respiratory function were evaluated. Levels of specific immunoglobulin E to allergens, periostin level were determined in blood serum by immunoenzyme method. The obtained data were processed using STATISTICA 13 and SPSS Statistic 27 software systems. RESULTS: The maximum serum periostin concentration 22.5 (17–38) ng/ml was recorded in the patients with asthma, which was significantly higher than in the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease group 16 (12–21) ng/ml; p = 0.006 and control group 20.1 (14.6–24.8) ng/ml; p = 0.044. The level of periostin in induced sputum in the patients with asthma was significantly higher than in the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease group — 0.05 (0.03–0.6) ng/ml vs 0.03 (0.02–0.04) ng/ml (p = 0.008). The study revealed the correlation between serum periostin level and eosinophil level (r = 0.406; p 0.05) and with forced expiratory volume in the first second after bronchodilator test (r = 0.366; p 0.05) as well as with forced expiratory volume in the first second divided by forced vital capacity after bronchodilator test (r = 0.572; p 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Periostin is a promising marker of eosinophilic inflammation in patients with asthma, which can be considered as an indicator of fixed bronchial obstruction and a molecule linking T2-inflammation and airway remodelling. In a group of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients, the use of periostin for diagnostic and prognostic purposes requires further investigation and larger studies.