Asthma inflammatory phenotypes on four continents: most asthma is non-eosinophilic.

BACKGROUND: Most studies assessing pathophysiological heterogeneity in asthma have been conducted in high-income countries (HICs), with little known about the prevalence and characteristics of different asthma inflammatory phenotypes in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). This study assessed sputum inflammatory phenotypes in five centres, in Brazil, Ecuador, Uganda, New Zealand (NZ) and the United Kingdom (UK). METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 998 asthmatics and 356 non-asthmatics in 2016-20. All centres studied children and adolescents (age range 8-20 years), except the UK centre which involved 26-27 year-olds. Information was collected using questionnaires, clinical characterization, blood and induced sputum. RESULTS: Of 623 asthmatics with sputum results, 39% (243) were classified as eosinophilic or mixed granulocytic, i.e. eosinophilic asthma (EA). Adjusted for age and sex, with NZ as baseline, the UK showed similar odds of EA (odds ratio 1.04, 95% confidence interval 0.37-2.94) with lower odds in the LMICs: Brazil (0.73, 0.42-1.27), Ecuador (0.40, 0.24-0.66) and Uganda (0.62, 0.37-1.04). Despite the low prevalence of neutrophilic asthma in most centres, sputum neutrophilia was increased in asthmatics and non-asthmatics in Uganda. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first time that sputum induction has been used to compare asthma inflammatory phenotypes in HICs and LMICs. Most cases were non-eosinophilic, including in settings where corticosteroid use was low. A lower prevalence of EA was observed in the LMICs than in the HICs. This has major implications for asthma prevention and management, and suggests that novel prevention strategies and therapies specifically targeting non-eosinophilic asthma are required globally.

Risk factors associated with rhinitis, allergic conjunctivitis and eczema among schoolchildren in Uganda.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of allergy-related diseases (ARDs), including rhinitis, allergic conjunctivitis and eczema, is on the increase globally. The causes of this increase are not well established. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the risk factors associated with ARDs among schoolchildren in Uganda. METHODS: We conducted a secondary data analysis of a large asthma case-control study involving 1700 schoolchildren, 5-17 years, in urban Uganda. ARDs were defined according to the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire. Skin prick testing (SPT) was conducted using standard procedures and allergen-specific IgE (asIgE) using ImmunoCAP® . We employed inverse probability weighted analysis to generate estimated prevalence data and weighted odds ratios. RESULTS: The lifetime estimated weighted prevalence of reported rhinitis, allergic conjunctivitis and eczema was 43.3%, 39.5% and 13.5%; weighted prevalence in 12 months was 10.1%, 9.1% and 2.3%, respectively. There was overlap of ARDs, with 66.3% of 1193 schoolchildren who reported having ever an ARDs (including asthma) reporting two or more. Risk factors associated with reported rhinitis in the last 12 months were city residence at birth [adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence interval) 2.66 (1.42-4.99) compared to rural]; father's [2.62 (1.79-3.83)] and mother's history of allergic disease [2.12 (1.48-3.02)]; frequent de-worming in the last 12 months [2.01 (1.30-3.11), ≥2 versus none]; current high frequency of 'trucks passing on the street near home' [2.59 (1.48-4.52), 'almost all the time' versus rarely] and positive SPT [1.54 (1.09-2.18)] but not asIgE [1.38 (0.60-3.15)]. The same pattern of risk factors was observed for allergic conjunctivitis and eczema. CONCLUSION: We found extensive multi-morbidity of, and overlap in the risk factors for, rhinitis, conjunctivitis and eczema-similar to asthma risk factors-among schoolchildren in urban Uganda. This suggests a similar underlying cause for all ARDs, associated with exposure to urban lifestyles and environment in Uganda.

Cross-reactive carbohydrate determinant-specific IgE obscures true atopy and exhibits ⍺-1,3-fucose epitope-specific inverse associations with asthma.

BACKGROUND: In high-income, temperate countries, IgE to allergen extracts is a risk factor for, and mediator of, allergy-related diseases (ARDs). In the tropics, positive IgE tests are also prevalent, but rarely associated with ARD. Instead, IgE responses to ubiquitous cross-reactive carbohydrate determinants (CCDs) on plant, insect and parasite glycoproteins, rather than to established major allergens, are dominant. Because anti-CCD IgE has limited clinical relevance, it may impact ARD phenotyping and assessment of contribution of atopy to ARD. METHODS: Using an allergen extract-based test, a glycan and an allergen (glyco)protein microarray, we mapped IgE fine specificity among Ugandan rural Schistosoma mansoni (Sm)-endemic communities, proximate urban communities, and importantly in asthmatic and nonasthmatic schoolchildren. RESULTS: Overall, IgE sensitization to extracts was highly prevalent (43%-73%) but allergen arrays indicated that this was not attributable to established major allergenic components of the extracts (0%-36%); instead, over 40% of all participants recognized CCD-bearing components. Using glycan arrays, we dissected IgE responses to specific glycan moieties and found that reactivity to classical CCD epitopes (core ß-1,2-xylose, α-1,3-fucose) was positively associated with sensitization to extracts, rural environment and Sm infection, but not with skin reactivity to extracts or sensitization to their major allergenic components. Interestingly, we discovered that reactivity to only a subset of core α-1,3-fucose-carrying N-glycans was inversely associated with asthma. CONCLUSIONS: CCD reactivity is not just an epiphenomenon of parasite exposure hampering specificity of allergy diagnostics; mechanistic studies should investigate whether specific CCD moieties identified here are implicated in the protective effect of certain environmental exposures against asthma.

Risk factors for asthma among schoolchildren who participated in a case-control study in urban Uganda.

Data on asthma aetiology in Africa are scarce. We investigated the risk factors for asthma among schoolchildren (5-17 years) in urban Uganda. We conducted a case-control study, among 555 cases and 1115 controls. Asthma was diagnosed by study clinicians. The main risk factors for asthma were tertiary education for fathers (adjusted OR (95% CI); 2.32 (1.71-3.16)) and mothers (1.85 (1.38-2.48)); area of residence at birth, with children born in a small town or in the city having an increased asthma risk compared to schoolchildren born in rural areas (2.16 (1.60-2.92)) and (2.79 (1.79-4.35)), respectively; father's and mother's history of asthma; children's own allergic conditions; atopy; and cooking on gas/electricity. In conclusion, asthma was associated with a strong rural-town-city risk gradient, higher parental socio-economic status and urbanicity. This work provides the basis for future studies to identify specific environmental/lifestyle factors responsible for increasing asthma risk among children in urban areas in LMICs.

Microarray assessment of N-glycan-specific IgE and IgG profiles associated with Schistosoma mansoni infection in rural and urban Uganda.

Core ß-1,2-xylose and α-1,3-fucose are antigenic motifs on schistosome N-glycans, as well as prominent IgE targets on some plant and insect glycoproteins. To map the association of schistosome infection with responses to these motifs, we assessed plasma IgE and IgG reactivity using microarray technology among Ugandans from rural Schistosoma mansoni (Sm)-endemic islands (n = 209), and from proximate urban communities with lower Sm exposure (n = 62). IgE and IgG responses to core ß-1,2-xylose and α-1,3-fucose modified N-glycans were higher in rural versus urban participants. Among rural participants, IgE and IgG to core ß-1,2-xylose were positively associated with Sm infection and concentration peaks coincided with the infection intensity peak in early adolescence. Responses to core α-1,3-fucose were elevated regardless of Sm infection status and peaked before the infection peak. Among urban participants, Sm infection intensity was predominantly light and positively associated with responses to both motifs. Principal component and hierarchical cluster analysis reduced the data to a set of variables that captured core ß-1,2-xylose- and α-1,3-fucose-specific responses, and confirmed associations with Sm and the rural environment. Responses to core ß-1,2-xylose and α-1,3-fucose have distinctive relationships with Sm infection and intensity that should further be explored for associations with protective immunity, and cross-reactivity with other exposures.