Asthma is a complex disease with a variable course. Efforts to identify biomarkers to predict asthma severity, the course of disease and response to treatment have not been very successful so far. Biomarker research has expanded greatly with the advancement of molecular research techniques. An ideal biomarker should be suitable to identify the disease as well the specific endotype/phenotype, useful in the monitoring of the disease and to determine the prognosis, easily to obtain with minimum discomfort or risk to the patient. An ideal biomarker should be suitable to identify the disease as well the specific endotype/phenotype, useful in the monitoring of the disease and to determine the prognosis, easily to obtain with minimum discomfort or risk to the patient - exhaled breath analysis, blood cells and serum biomarkers, sputum cells and mediators and urine metabolites could be potential biomarkers of asthma bronchiale. Unfortunately, at the moment, an ideal biomarker doesn't exist and the overlap between the biomarkers is a reality. Using panels of biomarkers could improve probably the identification of asthma endotypes in the era of precision medicine.

Clinic of Pediatric Respiratory Diseases and Tuberculosis in National Institute of Pediatric Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases in Dolny Smokovec Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin Comenius University in Bratislava Slovak Republic

See more in PubMed

ANTOSOVA M, MOKRA D, PEPUCHA L, PLEVKOVA J, BUDAY T, STERUSKY M, BENCOVA A. Physiology of nitric oxide in the respiratory system. Physiol Res. 2017a;66(Suppl 2):S159–S172. doi: 10.33549/physiolres.933673. PubMed DOI

ANTOSOVA M, MOKRA D, TONHAJZEROVA I, MIKOLKA P, KOSUTOVA P, MESTANIK M, PEPUCHA L, PLEVKOVA J, BUDAY T, CALKOVSKY V, BENCOVA A. Nasal nitric oxide in healthy adults - reference values and affecting factors. Physiol Res. 2017b;66(Suppl 2):S247–S255. doi: 10.33549/physiolres.933680. PubMed DOI

CANONICA GW, FERRANDO M, BAIARDINI I, PUGGIONI F, RACCA F, PASSALACQUA G, HEFFLER E. Asthma: personalized and precision medicine. Curr Opin Allergy Clin Immunol. 2018;18:51–58. doi: 10.1097/ACI.0000000000000416. PubMed DOI

CHUNG KF, WENZEL SE, BROZEK JL, BUSH A, CASTRO M, STERK PJ, ADCOCK IM, BATEMAN ED, BEL EH, BLEECKER ER, BOULET LP, BRIGHTLING C, CHANEZ P, DAHLEN SE, DJUKANOVIC R, FREY U, GAGA M, GIBSON P, HAMID Q, JAJOUR NN, MAUAD T, SORKNESS RL, TEAGUE WG. International ERS/ATS guidelines on definition, evaluation and treatment of severe asthma. Eur Respir J. 2014;43:343–373. doi: 10.1183/09031936.00202013. PubMed DOI

COWAN DC, TAYLOR DR, PETERSON LE, COWAN JO, PALMAY R, WILLIAMSON A, HAMMEL J, ERZURUM SC, HAZEN SL, COMHAIR SA. Biomarker-based asthma phenotypes of corticosteroid response. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2015;135:877–883. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2014.10.026. PubMed DOI PMC

DEMARCHE SF, SCHLEICH FN, PAULUS VA, HENKET MA, van HEES TJ, LOUIS RE. Asthma control and sputum eosinophils: a longitudinal study in daily practice. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2017;5:1335–1343. doi: 10.1016/j.jaip.2017.01.026. PubMed DOI

DWEIK RA, BOGGS PB, ERZURUM SC, IRVIN CG, LEIGH MW, LUNDBERG JO, OLIN AC, PLUMMER AL, TAYLOR DR American Thoracic Society Committee on Interpretation of Exhaled Nitric Oxide Levels (FENO) for Clinical Applications. An official ATS clinical practice guideline: interpretation of exhaled nitric oxide levels (FENO) for clinical applications. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2011;184:602–615. doi: 10.1164/rccm.9120-11ST. PubMed DOI PMC

EGUILUZ-GRACIA I, TAY TR, HEW M, ESCRIBESE MM, BARBER D, O’HEHIR RE, TORRES MJ. Recent developments and highlights in biomarkers in allergic diseases and asthma. Allergy. 2018;73:2290–2305. doi: 10.1111/all.13628. PubMed DOI

FITZPATRICK AM. Biomarkers of asthma and allergic airway diseases. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2015;115:335–340. doi: 10.1016/j.anai.2015.09.003. PubMed DOI

GRAYSON MH, FELDMAN S, PRINCE BT, PATEL PJ, MATSUI EC, APTER AJ. Advances in asthma in 2017: Mechanisms, biologics, and genetics. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2018;142:1423–1436. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2018.08.033. PubMed DOI

IWAMOTO H, GAO J, KOSKELA J, KINNULA V, KOBAYASHI H, LAITINEN T, MAZUR W. Differences in plasma and sputum biomarkers between COPD and COPD-asthma overlap. Eur Respir J. 2014;43:421–429. doi: 10.1183/09031936.00024313. PubMed DOI

KARRASCH S, LINDE K, RÜCKER G, SOMMER H, KARSCH-VÖLK M, KLEIJNEN J, JÖRRES RA, SCHNEIDER A. Accuracy of FENO for diagnosing asthma: a systematic review. Thorax. 2017;72:109–116. doi: 10.1136/thoraxjnl-2016-208704. PubMed DOI

KOH GC, SHEK LP, GOH DY, VAN BEVER H, KOH DS. Eosinophil cationic protein: is it useful in asthma? A systematic review. Respir Med. 2007;101:696–705. doi: 10.1016/j.rmed.2006.08.012. PubMed DOI

LIU HC, LU MC, LIN YC, WU TC, HSU JY, JAN MS, CHEN CM. Differences in IL-8 in serum and exhaled breath condensate from patients with exacerbated COPD or asthma attacks. J Formos Med Assoc. 2014;113:908–914. doi: 10.1016/j.jfma.2012.09.018. PubMed DOI

LOPEZ-GUISA JM, POWERS C, FILE D, COCHRANE E, JIMENEZ N, DEBLEY JS. Airway epithelial cells from asthmatic children differentially express proremodeling factors. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2012;129:990–997. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2011.11.035. PubMed DOI PMC

MAES T, COBOS FA, SCHLEICH F, SORBELLO V, HENKET M, DE PRETER K, BRACKE KR, CONICKX G, MESNIL C, VANDESOMPELE J, LAHOUSSE L, BUREAU F, MESTDAGH P, JOOS GF, RICCIARDOLO FL, BRUSSELLE GG, LOUIS R. Asthma inflammatory phenotypes show differential microRNA expression in sputum. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2016;137:1433–1446. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2016.02.018. PubMed DOI

MEDREK SK, PARULEKAR AD, HANANIA NA. Predictive biomarkers for asthma therapy. Curr Allergy Asthma Rep. 2017;17:69. doi: 10.1007/s11882-017-0739-5. PubMed DOI

MIDYAT L, GULEN F, KARACA E, OZKINAY F, TANAC R, DEMIR E, COGULU O, ASLAN A, OZKINAY C, ONAY H, ATASEVER M. MicroRNA expression profiling in children with different asthma phenotypes. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2016;51:582–587. doi: 10.1002/ppul.23331. PubMed DOI

MOORE WC, HASTIE AT, LI X, LI H, BUSSE WW, JARJOUR NN, WENZEL SE, PETERS SP, MEYERS DA, BLEECKER ER National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute’s Severe Asthma Research Program. Sputum neutrophil counts are associated with more severe asthma phenotypes using cluster analysis. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2014;133:1557–1563. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2013.10.011. PubMed DOI PMC

NAIK SP, PAM, BSJ, MADHUNAPANTULA SV, JAHROMI SR, YADAV MK. Evaluation of inflammatory markers interleukin-6 (IL-6) and matrix metalloproteinase-9(MMP-9) in asthma. J Asthma. 2017;54:584–593. doi: 10.1080/02770903.2016.1244828. PubMed DOI

NAIR P, OCHKUR SI, PROTHEROE C, RADFORD K, EFTHIMIADIS A, LEE NA, LEE JJ. Eosinophil peroxidase in sputum represents a unique biomarker of airway eosinophilia. Allergy. 2013;68:1177–1184. doi: 10.1111/all.12206. PubMed DOI PMC

PAPI A, BRIGHTLING C, PEDERSEN SE, REDDEL HK. Asthma. Lancet. 2018;391:783–800. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(17)33311-1. PubMed DOI

PORTELLI MA, MOSELEY C, STEWART CE, POSTMA DS, HOWARTH P, WARNER JA, HOLLOWAY JW, KOPPELMAN GH, BRIGHTLING C, SAYERS I. Airway and peripheral urokinase plasminogen activator receptor is elevated in asthma, and identifies a severe, nonatopic subset of patients. Allergy. 2017;72:473–482. doi: 10.1111/all.13046. PubMed DOI

ROBROEKS CM, van BERKEL JJ, JÖBSIS Q, VAN SCHOOTEN FJ, DALLINGA JW, WOUTERS EF, DOMPELING E. Exhaled volatile organic compounds predict exacerbations of childhood asthma in a 1-year prospective study. Eur Respir J. 2013;42:98–106. doi: 10.1183/09031936.00010712. PubMed DOI

SEMPRINI R, CASWELL-SMITH R, FINGLETON J, HOLWEG C, MATTHEWS J, WEATHERALL M, BEASLEY R, BRAITHWAITE I Periostin Study Team. Longitudinal variation periostin levels in adults with stable asthma. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2017;139:1687–1688. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2016.11.041. PubMed DOI

SILKOFF PE, LAVIOLETTE M, SINGH D, FITZGERALD JM, KELSEN S, BACKER V, PORSBJERG CM, GIRODET PO, BERGER P, KLINE JN, CHUPP G, SUSULIC VS, BARIBAUD F, LOZA MJ Airways Disease Endotyping for Personalized Therapeutics (ADEPT) study investigators. Identification of airway mucosal type 2 inflammation by using clinical biomarkers in asthmatic patients. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2017;140:710–719. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2016.11.038. PubMed DOI

SCHNEIDER A, LINDE K, REITSMA JB, STEINHAUSER S, RÜCKER G. A novel statistical model for analyzing data of a systematic review generates optimal cutoff values for fractional exhaled nitric oxide for asthma diagnosis. J Clin Epidemiol. 2017;92:69–78. doi: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2017.09.001. PubMed DOI

SHIMODA T, OBASE Y, KISHIKAWA R, IWANAGA T. Serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein can be an airway inflammation predictor in bronchial asthma. Allergy Asthma Proc. 2015;36:e23–8. doi: 10.2500/aap.2015.36.3816. PubMed DOI

TIOTIU A. Biomarkers in asthma: state of the art. Asthma Res Pract. 2018;4:10. doi: 10.1186/s40733-018-0047-4. PubMed DOI PMC

TOPERCEROVA J, KOLOMAZNIK M, KOPINCOVA J, NOVA Z, URBANOVA A, MOKRA D, MOKRY J, CALKOVSKA A. The effect of pulmonary surfactant on the airway smooth muscle after lipopolysaccharide exposure and its mechanisms. Physiol Res. 2019;68(Suppl 3):S275–S285. doi: 10.33549/physiolres.934410. PubMed DOI

Correlation Analysis of Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Levels With Immune Function and Calcium-Phosphate Metabolism in Patients With Bronchial Asthma Treated With Combination Therapy

Legacy of Prof. Juraj Korpáš: International Impact of Slovak School of Experimental Respirology