title: Serum progranulin as an indicator of neutrophilic airway inflammation and asthma severity.
abstract: Progranulin, a protein secreted from the airway epithelium, is known to attenuate the downstream cascade of neutrophilic inflammation in particular. We hypothesized that progranulin may have a role in inflammatory regulation in asthma.
  
  
  
  To investigate the association between serum progranulin levels and various clinical features in patients with asthma.
  
  
  
  Serum samples and clinical data of 475 patients with asthma and 35 healthy controls at a tertiary referral hospital and its affiliated health promotion center were collected. Serum progranulin levels were compared between patients with asthma and healthy controls and then were compared within the patients with asthma in terms of pulmonary function and measures of inflammatory status. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify factors associated with severity of asthma.
  
  
  
  Serum progranulin levels were significantly lower in the asthma group than in healthy group and were positively correlated with prebronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 second predicted within patients with asthma. We found a negative correlation between serum progranulin levels and blood neutrophil counts. Multivariate analysis revealed that higher serum progranulin levels were associated with a lower risk of severe asthma (odds ratio, 0.888; 95% confidence interval, 0.846-0.932; P < .001) after adjustment for other variables, such as age, sex, smoking status, blood neutrophil count, and current use of systemic corticosteroids.
  
  
  
  Although the exact mechanism of the anti-inflammatory action of progranulin remains unknown, we suggest that serum progranulin may be an indicator of severe asthma with airflow limitation. Future studies with comprehensive airway sampling strategies are warranted to clarify its role, particularly in neutrophilic asthma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: So Young
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Asan Institute for Life Sciences, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Gyong Hwa
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.affiliation: Asan Institute for Life Sciences, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Sunjoo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Bomi
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Konkuk University Chungju Hospital, Chungju, Korea.
authors.forename: Sun-Young
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Yoon
authors.affiliation: Department of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Hyouk-Soo
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.affiliation: Department of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Tae-Bum
authors.initials: TB
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Hee-Bom
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Moon
authors.affiliation: Department of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. Electronic address: yscho@amc.seoul.kr.
authors.forename: You Sook
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Cho
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000402:Airway Obstruction / Q000097:blood / Q000473:pathology; D001249:Asthma / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology; D015415:Biomarkers; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005541:Forced Expiratory Volume; D006801:Humans; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000097:blood*; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020556:Neutrophil Infiltration; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000473:pathology*; D000077153:Progranulins; D012372:ROC Curve; D012042:Registries; D056910:Republic of Korea; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; C492314:GRN protein, human; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D000077153:Progranulins