Abstract
Introduction: Neutrophil elastase (NE) activity in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) is associated with early bronchiectasis in children with cystic fibrosis (CF); however, the pathophysiology of bronchiectasis remains unclear.
Aims and objectives: We hypothesize that other proteins in BALF are involved in CF bronchiectasis. We assessed the relationships between BALF proteins from CF children and airway count, a surrogate of bronchiectasis on chest CT (DeBoer E.M. et al. Chest; In press).
Methods: CF children with a chest CT scan within 2 months of BALF collection were included in this study. Banked BALF was analyzed for 1129 proteins using SOMAmerTM, (Slow Off-rate Modified Aptamers) proteomic technology (Gold L. et al. PLoS one 2010; 5:e15004). Airway count was obtained using automated software. Spirometry data was recorded. A Spearman's rank correlation coefficient estimated the correlation between spirometry, protein quantity, and mean airway count. The proteins were ranked by magnitude of the correlation coefficient.
Results: 22 subjects (15 male) had a quality CT for analysis; age: 4 -20 years, FEV1: 32 -139% predicted, and airway count: 0.3 –52 airways per CT slice. 82 proteins, including NE (r = 0.47, p = 0.03), were significantly correlated with airway count (p < 0.05), without adjustment for multiple comparisons. Of these proteins, 43, including other proteases and antiproteases, were more strongly correlated with airway count than NE.
Conclusions: The unique SOMAmerTM protemic platform identifies several novel proteins that are associated with bronchiectasis that could serve as clinically useful biomarkers in children with CF.
- © 2014 ERS