title: Plasma connective tissue growth factor levels as potential biomarkers of airway obstruction in patients with asthma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Bronchial asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder characterized by airway hyperresponsiveness and airflow limitation. Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), one of the key profibrotic factors associated with transforming growth factor β, may be related to airway remodeling in asthma. However, no data are available on the association between plasma CTGF levels and clinical and physiologic parameters in patients with asthma. Recently, we developed a novel subtraction method for determination of plasma CTGF levels.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the utility of plasma CTGF level as a surrogate biomarker in asthma.
  
  
  METHODS
  Plasma CTGF levels were measured in 67 patients with stable asthma and 81 healthy volunteers, using the subtraction method. We evaluated correlations between plasma CTGF levels and clinical and physiologic parameters in patients with asthma.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Plasma CTGF levels were higher in patients with asthma than in healthy volunteers. Asthmatic patients with a percentage of predicted forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) less than 80% had significantly higher levels of plasma CTGF than those with a percentage of predicted FEV1 of 80% or more. In patients with asthma, plasma CTGF levels had significantly negative correlations with forced vital capacity (FVC), FEV1, percentage of predicted FEV1, FEV1/FVC ratio, forced expiratory flow at 50% of the FVC (FEF50%), percentage of predicted FEF50%, forced expiratory flow at 75% of the FVC (FEF75%), and percentage of predicted FEF75%, parameters that reflect the degree of airway obstruction. Plasma CTGF levels were negatively correlated with Asthma Control Test scores, a patient-based index of clinical control of asthma.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Plasma CTGF may be a potential biomarker for stable asthma when evaluating the degree of persistent airway obstruction.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  umin.ac.jp/ctr Identifier: UMIN000013081.
authors: Second Division, Department of Internal Medicine, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan; Department of Respiratory Medicine, Seirei Mikatahara General Hospital, Hamamatsu, Japan.
authors: Masato
authors: M
authors: Kato
authors: Second Division, Department of Internal Medicine, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan. Electronic address: fujisawa@hama-med.ac.jp.
authors: Tomoyuki
authors: T
authors: Fujisawa
authors: Second Division, Department of Internal Medicine, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan.
authors: Dai
authors: D
authors: Hashimoto
authors: Second Division, Department of Internal Medicine, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan; Department of Laboratory Medicine, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan.
authors: Masato
authors: M
authors: Kono
authors: Second Division, Department of Internal Medicine, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan.
authors: Noriyuki
authors: N
authors: Enomoto
authors: Second Division, Department of Internal Medicine, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan.
authors: Yutaro
authors: Y
authors: Nakamura
authors: Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan.
authors: Naoki
authors: N
authors: Inui
authors: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan.
authors: Etsuko
authors: E
authors: Hamada
authors: Tsukuba Research Institute, Research & Development Division, Sekisui Medical Company Ltd, Ryugasaki, Japan.
authors: Osamu
authors: O
authors: Miyazaki
authors: Diagnostic Products Development Department, Research & Development Division, Sekisui Medical Company Ltd, Tokyo, Japan.
authors: Syunsuke
authors: S
authors: Kurashita
authors: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan.
authors: Masato
authors: M
authors: Maekawa
authors: Second Division, Department of Internal Medicine, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan.
authors: Takafumi
authors: T
authors: Suda
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000402:Airway Obstruction / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology*; D001249:Asthma / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D055513:Connective Tissue Growth Factor / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D055513:Connective Tissue Growth Factor