IL-23 Gene and Protein Expression in Childhood Asthma.
BACKGROUND
Asthma is the chronic inflammation of airways characterized by eosinophilic infiltration, mucus overproduction, airway hyper-responsiveness and airway remodeling. These changes are induced mostly by cytokines which are produced by T helper (Th) 2 cells. Recently, the role of interleukin-23 (IL-23) in the pathogenesis of adult allergic asthma has been studied.


OBJECTIVE
To explore IL-23 serum levels and its expression in persistent asthma compared with healthy children younger than five years old.


METHODS
Blood samples of 40 children with mild and severe persistent asthma were compared to 34 healthy children regarding IL-23 serum levels and gene expression using enzyme-linked immunosorbentassay (ELISA) and real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR).


RESULTS
The IL-23 gene expression level was significantly different in the 25 children with mild persistent asthma and the 15 children with severe persistent asthma compared to the control group (p=0.001). There was no significant difference in IL-23 gene expression level between the two groups of patients with mild and severe persistent asthma. A significant difference was seen in IL-23 serum levels between the 25 children with persistent asthma and control group (p=0.002).


CONCLUSIONS
For pre-school children with history and physical exam in favor of asthma which cannot be tested by spirometry, IL-23 serum levels may be an auxiliary biomarker for the diagnosis of asthma.
Department of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Nemazee Hospital, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Soheila
S
Alyasin
Reza
R
Amin
Ali
A
Fazel
Mohammad Hossein
MH
Karimi
Seyed Hesamedin
SH
Nabavizadeh
Hossein
H
Esmaeilzadeh
Maryam
M
Babaei
D000328:Adult; D001249:Asthma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D018450:Disease Progression; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D053760:Interleukin-23 Subunit p19 / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics; D008297:Male; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction
D015415:Biomarkers; C508840:IL23A protein, human; D053760:Interleukin-23 Subunit p19