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Angiopoietin-2 linked to severe asthma, exacerbations

Patients with increased Angiopoietin-2 serum levels are more likely to have severe or refractory asthma and have repeat severe exacerbations, according to research.

“Our study has confirmed and extended previous observations suggesting an imbalance between various proangiogenic factors in patients with bronchial asthma,” Joanna S. Makowska, MD, PhD, from the Department of Rheumatology at the Healthy Aging Research Center, Medical University of Lodz in Lodz, Poland, and colleagues wrote in their study. “Increased serum levels of proangiogenic Angiopoietin-2 in asthmatics and its association with clinical markers of asthma severity, including exacerbations, may reflect ongoing airway inflammation. Further studies are required to assess if Angiopoietin-2 serum level can serve as a biomarker of asthma severity and remodeling.”

Makowska and colleagues analyzed serum results from 45 patients with severe or refractory asthma (SRA), 51 patients with non-severe or refractory asthma and matched them against 30 healthy control patients, according to the abstract. The researchers measured serum concentrations of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), Angiopoietin-1, Angiopoietin-2 and osteopontin using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

They found higher levels of Angiopoietin-1 (68.8 ± 2.7 ng/ml vs. 56.4 ± 9.3 ng/ml; P < 0.05), Angiopoietin-2 (4.9 ± 0.35 ng/ml vs. 1.38 ± 0.14 ng/ml; P < 0.0001) and VEGF in both SRA and non-SRA patients compared with healthy control patients (255 ± 45.4 pg/ml vs. 424.5 ± 27.8 pg/ml; P < 0.01). Specifically, SRA patients (6.04 ± 0.46) had a higher mean serum level of Angiopoietin-2 than non-SRA (3.84 ± 0.43) patients (P < 0.001), and Angiopoietin-2 was correlated with factors such as the mean number of asthma exacerbations in the preceding 12 months (r = 0.21; P < 0.05), the mean number of hospitalizations (r = 0.21; P < 0.05), the mean number of severe exacerbations leading to emergency room visits (r = 0.24; P < 0.04) or the number of inhaled corticosteroid doses taken by patients (r = 0.36; P < 0.001). – by Jeff Craven

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.