title: Serum eosinophil-derived neurotoxin (EDN) in diagnosis and evaluation of severity and bronchial hyperresponsiveness in childhood asthma.
abstract: This study sought to evaluate the use of serum eosinophil-derived neurotoxin (EDN), which has been proposed as a marker of airway inflammation in asthma in the diagnosis and evaluation of the severity and bronchial hyperresponsiveness in childhood asthma. We studied 72 children with atopic asthma, 36 children with nonatopic asthma, and 43 healthy controls. Skin prick tests, pulmonary function tests, and methacholine challenge tests were performed, in addition to total eosinophil count, serum ECP, and EDN being measured in all subjects. EDN levels were significantly higher in the atopic asthma group than those in the nonatopic asthma group or control group (p < 0.001), as were ECP levels (p < 0.001). EDN levels differed more significantly among groups divided by asthma severity (p < 0.001) than did ECP levels for these groups (p < 0.05). For the groups divided according to bronchial hyperresponsiveness, both EDN and ECP levels were significantly different (p < 0.005 and p < 0.01, respectively). Significant correlations were found between EDN and PC(20) (gamma = -0.281; p < 0.001), between ECP and PC(20) (gamma = -0.274; p < 0.005), and between EDN and ECP (gamma = 0.443; p < 0.001). In conclusion, serum EDN, as another marker of eosinophilic inflammation together with ECP, may aid in the diagnosis of asthma, especially atopic asthma, and in the evaluation of the severity and bronchial hyperresponsiveness in childhood asthma.
authors: Department of Pediatrics and Institute of Allergy, Brain Korea 21 Project for Medical Sciences, Biomolecule Secretion Research Center, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors: Kyung Won
authors: KW
authors: Kim
authors: Kyung Eun
authors: KE
authors: Lee
authors: Eun Soo
authors: ES
authors: Kim
authors: Tae Won
authors: TW
authors: Song
authors: Myung Hyun
authors: MH
authors: Sohn
authors: Kyu-Earn
authors: KE
authors: Kim
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001249:Asthma / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D016535:Bronchial Hyperreactivity / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D016084:Bronchoconstriction / Q000187:drug effects; D016085:Bronchoconstrictor Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D002648:Child; D047150:Eosinophil Cationic Protein / Q000097:blood; D047208:Eosinophil-Derived Neurotoxin / Q000097:blood* / Q000502:physiology; D004804:Eosinophils / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016210:Methacholine Chloride / Q000494:pharmacology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D016085:Bronchoconstrictor Agents; D016210:Methacholine Chloride; D047208:Eosinophil-Derived Neurotoxin; D047150:Eosinophil Cationic Protein