Multicenter Prospective Observational Study to Evaluate the Therapeutic Effect and Safety of a Combination of Montelukast and Levocetirizine for Allergic Rhinitis when Administered to Patients with Allergic Rhinitis and Asthma.

INTRODUCTION: Allergic rhinitis and asthma share a common inflammatory mechanism and are closely related, recognized as "one airway disease." Thus, the guidelines recommend allergic rhinitis and asthma be treated together, and leukotriene antagonists and antihistamines have been administered simultaneously; however, there are few reports of the use of combination drugs so far. METHODS: The aim of the study was to evaluate the treatment effects and adverse events of Monterizine® (a combination of montelukast and levocetirizine); a total of 2,254 patients with perennial allergic rhinitis and asthma were prospectively enrolled from 60 hospitals nationwide in Korea. They were followed up for 3 (Period 1) or 6 months (Period 2). Total nasal symptom score (TNSS), satisfaction, and safety data were collected and compared to baseline. RESULTS: TNSS scores were analyzed for 2,254 subjects. At Period 1 (n = 2,024) and 2 (n = 1,861), the scores decreased significantly from baseline (-1.20 ± 2.49 and -1.63 ± 2.78, p < 0.001). The mean quality of life (QoL) was significantly improved at Period 1 and 2 relative to baseline (-3.75 ± 6.58, -4.83 ± 7.11, both p < 0.0001). There were no serious adverse drug reactions, but there were some minor reactions including nasopharyngitis (2.92%), rhinitis (0.37%), and somnolence (0.34%). CONCLUSIONS: TNSS score and QoL were significantly improved by 3-6 months' treatment with Monterizine without significant adverse reactions. These results indicate that Monterizine, as a combination drug, is effective and safe for improving nasal symptoms and quality of life in patients with allergic rhinitis who also have asthma.

Association between obesity and lung function changes by sex and age in adults with asthma.

OBJECTIVE: The lung function changes presenting before and after asthma treatment in obese people remain largely unknown. This study aimed to investigate the association between obesity and lung function changes before and after treatment in adults with asthma. METHODS: We enrolled 937 newly diagnosed asthma patients from Cohort for Reality and Evolution of Adult Asthma in Korea cohort in 2015-2017, who performed follow-up spirometry after three months of asthma treatment. The percentage changes (Δ) between the spirometry results before and after treatment were calculated. Patients were categorized into four body mass index (BMI) groups; underweight (<18.5), normal (18.5-22.9), overweight (23.0-24.9), and obese (≥25.0). Association between percent change of pulmonary function and BMI was analyzed according to sex and/or age (< 45 yrs, 45-65 yrs, ≥ 65 yrs), which were statistically corrected for age, sex, smoking status, and medication history. RESULTS: There was no consistent correlation between BMI and each lung function parameter. However, there were significant differences between BMI and ΔFEV1/FVC before and after 3 months of controller treatment. The obese asthmatics showed significantly lower ΔFEV1/FVC (6.0 ± 13.5%) than the underweight (12.6 ± 21.4%, P = 0.044) or normal weight (9.1 ± 14.6%, P = 0.031). Middle-aged women had higher BMI (24.11 ± 3.60 vs. 22.39 ± 3.52) and lower ΔFEV1/FVC (5.7 ± 11.9% vs. 8.9 ± 14.3%, P = 0.012) than young women. CONCLUSIONS: Obesity is negatively correlated with the ΔFEV1/FVC before and after controller treatment. Sex and age differentially contribute to lung function changes in response to asthma medications in adult asthmatics, showing a significant decrease in the ΔFEV1/FVC in middle-aged women.

Clusters of Severe Eosinophilic Asthma in a Korean Asthma Cohort.

BACKGROUND: Targeted therapies have broadened the available treatment options for patients with severe eosinophilic asthma (SEA). However, differences in the magnitude of treatment responses among patients indicate the presence of various underlying pathophysiological processes and patient subgroups. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to describe the characteristics of SEA and identify its patient subgroups. METHODS: Clinical data from the Cohort for Reality and Evolution of Adult Asthma in Korea were analyzed. Cluster analysis was performed among those with SEA using 5 variables, namely, prebronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 s, body mass index, age at symptom onset, smoking amount, and blood eosinophil counts. RESULTS: Patients with SEA showed prevalent sensitization to aeroallergens, decreased lung function, and poor asthma control status. Cluster analysis revealed 3 distinctive subgroups among patients with SEA. Cluster 1 (n = 177) consisted of patients reporting the lowest blood eosinophils (median, 346.8 cells/µL) and modest severe asthma with preserved lung function during the 12-month treatment period. Cluster 2 (n = 42) predominantly included smoking males with severe persistent airway obstruction and moderate eosinophilia (median, 451.8 cells/µL). Lastly, cluster 3 (n = 95) included patients with the most severe asthma, the highest eosinophil levels (median, 817.5 cells/µL), and good treatment response in terms of improved lung function and control status. CONCLUSIONS: Three subgroups were identified in SEA through the cluster analysis. The distinctive features of each cluster may help physicians predict patients who will respond to biologics with greater magnitude of clinical improvement. Further research regarding the underlying pathophysiology and clinical importance of each subgroup is warranted.

Classification and implementation of asthma phenotypes in elderly patients.

BACKGROUND: No attempt has yet been made to classify asthma phenotypes in the elderly population. It is essential to clearly identify clinical phenotypes to achieve optimal treatment of elderly patients with asthma. OBJECTIVES: To classify elderly patients with asthma by cluster analysis and developed a way to use the resulting cluster in practice. METHODS: We applied k-means cluster to 872 elderly patients with asthma (aged ≥ 65 years) in a prospective, observational, and multicentered cohort. Acute asthma exacerbation data collected during the prospective follow-up of 2 years was used to evaluate clinical trajectories of these clusters. Subsequently, a decision-tree algorithm was developed to facilitate implementation of these classifications. RESULTS: Four clusters of elderly patients with asthma were identified: (1) long symptom duration and marked airway obstruction, (2) female dominance and normal lung function, (3) smoking male dominance and reduced lung function, and (4) high body mass index and borderline lung function. Cluster grouping was strongly predictive of time to first acute asthma exacerbation (log-rank P = .01). The developed decision-tree algorithm included 2 variables (percentage of predicted forced expiratory volume in 1 second and smoking pack-years), and its efficiency in proper classification was confirmed in the secondary cohort of elderly patients with asthma. CONCLUSIONS: We defined 4 elderly asthma phenotypic clusters with distinct probabilities of future acute exacerbation of asthma. Our simplified decision-tree algorithm can be easily administered in practice to better understand elderly asthma and to identify an exacerbation-prone subgroup of elderly patients with asthma.

CD53, a suppressor of inflammatory cytokine production, is associated with population asthma risk via the functional promoter polymorphism -1560 C>T.

BACKGROUND: In this study, the association of asthma with CD53, a member of the tetraspanin family, was assessed for the first time in a mechanism-based study. METHODS: Genetic polymorphisms of CD53 were analyzed in 591 subjects and confirmed in a replication study of 1001 subjects. CD53 mRNA and protein levels were measured in peripheral blood leukocytes, and the effects of the promoter polymorphisms on nuclear factor binding were examined by electrophoretic mobility shift assay. Cellular functional studies were conducted by siRNA transfections. RESULTS: Among tagging SNPs of CD53, the -1560 C>T in the promoter region was significantly associated with asthma risk. Compared with the CC genotype, the CT and TT genotypes were associated with a higher asthma risk, with odd ratios of 1.74 (P=0.009) and 2.03 (P=0.004), respectively. These findings were confirmed in the replication study with odd ratios of 1.355 (P=0.047) and 1.495 (P=0.039), respectively. The -1560 C>T promoter SNP had functional effects on nuclear protein binding as well as mRNA and protein expression levels in peripheral blood leukocytes. When CD53 was knocked down by siRNA in THP-1 human monocytic cells stimulated with house dust mite, the production of inflammatory cytokines as well as NFκB activity was significantly over-activated, suggesting that CD53 suppresses over-activation of inflammatory responses. CONCLUSIONS: The -1560 C>T SNP is a functional promoter polymorphism that is significantly associated with population asthma risk, and is thought to act by directly modulating nuclear protein binding, thereby altering the expression of CD53, a suppressor of inflammatory cytokine production.

Genome-wide association study of aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease in a Korean population.

Aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease (AERD) is a nonallergic clinical syndrome characterized by a severe decline in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) following the ingestion of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as aspirin. The effects of genetic variants have not fully explained all of the observed individual differences to an aspirin challenge despite previous attempts to identify AERD-related genes. In the present study, we performed genome-wide association study (GWAS) and targeted association study in Korean asthmatics to identify new genetic factors associated with AERD. A total of 685 asthmatic patients without AERD and 117 subjects with AERD were used for the GWAS of the first stage, and 996 asthmatics without AERD and 142 subjects with AERD were used for a follow-up study. A total of 702 SNPs were genotyped using the GoldenGate assay with the VeraCode microbead. GWAS revealed the top-ranked variants in 3' regions of the HLA-DPB1 gene. To investigate the detailed genetic effects of an associated region with the risk of AERD, a follow-up targeted association study with the 702 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of 14 genes was performed on 802 Korean subjects. In a case-control analysis, HLA-DPB1 rs1042151 (Met105Val) shows the most significant association with the susceptibility of AERD (p = 5.11 × 10(-7); OR = 2.40). Moreover, rs1042151 also shows a gene dose for the percent decline of FEV1 after an aspirin challenge (p = 2.82 × 10(-7)). Our findings show that the HLA-DPB1 gene polymorphism may be the most susceptible genetic factor for the risk of AERD in Korean asthmatics and confirm the importance of HLA-DPB1 in the genetic etiology of AERD.

Identification of asthma clusters in two independent Korean adult asthma cohorts.

Asthma is a heterogeneous airway disease with various clinical phenotypes. It is crucial to clearly identify clinical phenotypes to achieve better asthma management. We used cluster analysis to classify the clinical groups of 724 asthmatic patients from the Cohort for Reality and Evolution of Adult Asthma in Korea (COREA), and in 1843 subjects from another independent Korean asthma cohort of Soonchunhyang University Asthma Genome Research Centre (SCH) (Bucheon, Republic of Korea). Hierarchical cluster analysis was performed by Ward's method, followed by κ-means cluster analysis. Cluster analysis of the COREA cohort indicated four asthma subtypes: 1) smoking asthma; 2) severe obstructive asthma; 3) early-onset atopic asthma; and 4) late-onset mild asthma. An independent cluster analysis of the SCH cohort also indicated four clusters that were similar to the COREA clusters. Our results indicate that adult Korean asthma patients can be classified into four distinct clusters.

Allergic rhinitis and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level in Korean adults.

BACKGROUND: Recently, it has been suggested that airway hyper-responsiveness, asthma, and atopic dermatitis are associated with a low vitamin D level. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether the occurrence of allergic rhinitis (AR) is related to serum vitamin D levels in the general Korean adult population. METHODS: Data obtained as part of the fourth annual Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2009) of 8,012 adults older than 18 years were analyzed. The correlation between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) level and presence of AR using questionnaires on symptoms, history of diagnosis of AR, and rhinoscopic findings were analyzed. All estimates were calculated based on sampling weight. RESULTS: Mean age was 44.41 years and men constituted 49.8% of the sample. Participants with diagnosed AR constituted 11.1%. The mean 25(OH)D level of the AR group was lower than that of the non-AR group (16.71 ± 0.30 vs 17.75 ± 0.25 ng/mL, P < .001). A comparison of the prevalence of AR in the 3 groups showed that AR steadily decreased in the higher 25(OH)D groups (13.0% in group I [<15 ng/mL], 11.5% in group II [≥15-<25 ng/mL], and 7.2% in group III [≥25 ng/mL], P < .001). After adjusting for body mass index, smoking status, age, sex, sun exposure, income quartile, exercise, and body fat percentage, lower serum 25(OH)D levels remained significantly associated with the presence of AR compared with group III (hazard ratio 1.559 in group I and 1.430 in group II). CONCLUSION: This study suggested a potential association between low vitamin D levels and AR prevalence in Korean adults.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene polymorphisms are associated with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

BACKGROUND: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is characterized by progressive dyspnea and worsening lung function. ACE is increased in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from patients with IPF, suggesting the role of ACE in the pathogenesis of IPF. We evaluated the role of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the development risk of IPF. METHODS: Two-hundred twenty patients with IPF and 456 healthy subjects were included in this study. Eleven polymorphisms were selected among those reported previously. Genotype was performed by single base extension. RESULTS: Although absolute LD (|D'|= 1 and r(2 )= 1) was not present, 11 SNPs showed tight LDs. The logistic analysis of the all of 11 SNPs on the ACE genes between patients with IPF and healthy subjects were found to be related with the risk of IPF in recessive type. However, in patients with IPF diagnosed by surgical lung biopsy, only two SNP of -5538T>C and +21288_insdel SNPs were related with the risk of IPF in co-dominant type, and there were no SNPs related with the risk of IPF in dominant type. In patients with IPF diagnosed by clinical criteria or surgical lung biopsy, four SNPs on promoter (-5538T>C, -5508A>C, -3927T>C, -115T>C), one on intron (+15276A>G), one on exon (+21181G>A), and one in three prime region (+21288_insdel) were related with the risk of IPF. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed a newly discovered SNP of ACE associated with the risk of development of IPF. ACE -5538T>C and -5508A>C significantly associated with risk of IPF in Korea.

Airway hyperresponsiveness is negatively associated with obesity or overweight status in patients with asthma.

BACKGROUND: Obesity is a risk factor for asthma in the general population, but the effect of obesity on airway hyperresponsiveness (AFHR) or airway inflammation in asthma is not clear. This study evaluated the relationship between obesity and asthma, assessing aspects of symptoms, AHR, and severity. METHODS: In total, 852 patients with asthma diagnosed by asthma specialists based on AHR as confirmed by a methacholine bronchial provocation test, were enrolled from the Cohort for Reality and Evolution of Adult Asthma in Korea (COREA) adult asthma cohort. The intensity of AHR was assessed by the concentration of methacholine needed to cause a 20% decrease in FEV(1) (PC(20)). Patients were classified into four categories based on body mass index (BMI): underweight (<18.5), normal weight (18.5-24.9), overweight (25.0-29.9), and obese (≥30). RESULTS: BMI was negatively correlated with FEV(1) (l), FVC (l), and FEV(1)/FVC (%) in lung function tests. The prevalence of wheezing increased with higher BMI after adjustment for age, sex, smoking, medication history, and PC(20) (p < 0.0001). logPC(20) was lower in the normal weight group compared with the overweight group (p = 0.003). The risk of moderate or severe AHR (PC(20) ≤ 4 mg/ml) decreased with increased BMI after adjustment for age, sex, smoking, and medication history (p = 0.035). CONCLUSIONS: Obesity is a risk factor for asthma in the general population, but obesity in asthmatic patients is negatively correlated with the intensity of AHR and is not related to asthma severity. Obesity is positively related with the prevalence of wheezing but negatively related to AHR in asthmatic patients.

Association of FANCC polymorphisms with FEV1 decline in aspirin exacerbated respiratory disease.

Aspirin exacerbated respiratory disease (AERD) is a clinical condition characterized by severe decline in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) following the ingestion of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), including aspirin. The exacerbated inflammatory response in Fancc-deficient mice has been reported to be associated with hemopoietic responses that are also related to AERD pathogenesis. To investigate associations of FANCC polymorphisms with AERD and related phenotypes, this study genotyped 25 common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in a total of 592 Korean asthmatics including 163 AERD and 429 aspirin-tolerant asthma (ATA) subjects. Logistic analysis revealed that genetic polymorphisms of the FANCC gene might not be directly related to AERD development and nasal polyposis (P > 0.05). However, the FEV1 decline by aspirin provocation showed significant associations with FANCC polymorphisms (P = 0.006-0.04) and a haplotype (unique to rs4647416G > A, P = 0.01 under co-dominant, P = 0.006 under recessive model). In silico analysis showed that the "A" allele of rs4647376C > A, which was more prevalent in AERD than in ATA, could act as a potential branch point (BP) site for alternative splicing (BP score = 4.16). Although replications in independent cohorts and further functional evaluations are still needed, our preliminary findings suggest that FANCC polymorphisms might be associated with the obstructive symptoms in allergic diseases.

Potential association of DDR1 genetic variant with FEV1 decline by aspirin provocation in asthmatics.

BACKGROUND: The discoidin domain receptor tyrosine kinase 1 (DDR1) is positioned within the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) region which plays an important role in the immune system. In addition, DDR1 has been elucidated to be downregulated during the epithelial-mesenchymal transition of bronchial epithelium. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the potential genetic associations between DDR1 and aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease (AERD), this study conducted association studies of DDR1 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with AERD and the obstructive symptom of forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV(1)) decline after aspirin provocation. METHODS: Nine common SNPs were genotyped in 93 AERD patients and 96 aspirin-tolerant asthma (ATA) controls. The genotype distributions of all loci were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE; p > .05). Results. In the results of logistic analyses using age, sex, smoking status, and atopy as covariates, DDR1 rs1264320 in the intronic region showed a potent association signal with FEV(1) decline by aspirin provocation in asthmatics of this study even after corrections for multiple testing (p = .003 and corrected p = .01). However, the variants of DDR1 were not significantly associated with the AERD development (corrected p > .05). On further comparison of FEV(1) decline by aspirin provocation between AERD and ATA, the variant rs1264320 was found to be associated with the FEV(1) decline of ATA rather than AERD. CONCLUSION: Despite the need for further functional evaluations and replications, we conclude that DDR1 polymorphisms are not likely to contribute to predispositions of AERD, but may be potentially associated with FEV(1) decline by aspirin provocation in asthmatics.

Economic costs for adult asthmatics according to severity and control status in Korean tertiary hospitals.

OBJECTIVE: The prevalence of asthma is increasing, and asthma causes considerable socioeconomic burden worldwide. Few studies have been conducted to evaluate the risk factors associated with economic cost of asthma in Korea. This study evaluated asthma cost according to severity, control, and patient factors in Korean tertiary hospitals. METHODS: Direct and indirect costs were assessed in physician-diagnosed adult asthmatics recruited from eight tertiary hospitals in Korea. Official direct medical costs were derived from the analysis of 1-year expenditures related to hospital care utilization and asthma medication. Nonofficial medical costs, nonmedical direct costs, and indirect costs were investigated using a questionnaire designed specifically for the study. RESULTS: A total of 314 patients with persistent asthma were recruited. Both direct and indirect costs were significantly higher for patients with severe persistent asthma than for those with mild and moderate persistent asthma ($2214 vs. $871 and $978, p < .001; $2927 vs. $490 and $443, p < .001, respectively). Costs of asthma increased significantly in poorly controlled compared with somewhat controlled and well-controlled asthma ($7009.8 vs. $2725.3 vs. $1517.3, respectively; p < .001). After stratification for severity, a significant cost increase in the poorly controlled asthma group was observed only for indirect costs and not for direct costs. A multivariate analysis showed that female gender was a risk factor for increased indirect costs. CONCLUSION: The burden of asthma was higher both for patients with severe persistent asthma and for patients with poorly controlled asthma. More effective strategies are needed to improve control status, particularly targeting patients with severe asthma.

The reality of an intermediate type between asthma and COPD in practice.

BACKGROUND: Asthma and COPD are obstructive airway diseases related to chronic airway inflammation. However, it is known that in real practice the 2 diseases overlap. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the reality of an intermediate type between asthma and COPD, when diagnosed by physicians in Korea. METHODS: The study involved 633 Korean patients with asthma, 157 with COPD, and 41 with an intermediate type. The latter group consisted of patients with clinically mixed or overlapping characteristics of asthma and COPD. The diagnoses were dependent on physicians' clinical decisions. We analyzed the clinical differences among the 3 groups. RESULTS: There were differences among the 3 groups in age, sex, atopy, and body mass index. Differences in smoking status, including percentages of current smokers, duration of smoking, and number of cigarettes smoked per day, were also observed. Pre-bronchodilator FEV(1) (%), FVC (%), and FEV(1)/FVC (%) gradually decreased from the asthma group to the intermediate type group to the COPD group. Positivity of post-bronchodilator response, increase of FEV(1) (%) and post-bronchodilator FEV(1)/FVC also showed gradual patterns. For emergency department visits and hospital admissions, frequencies were lowest in the asthma group, higher in the intermediate type group, and highest in the COPD patients. All P values were statistically significant (< .001). CONCLUSIONS: We have identified and characterized an intermediate type between asthma and COPD in clinical characteristics. Further investigations are required to determine whether these 3 conditions are part of the chronic obstructive airway diseases spectrum or are rather distinct clinical entities.

Silicosis caused by chronic inhalation of snail shell powder.

A 70-yr-old woman visited our hospital for shortness of breath. Chest CT showed ground glass opacity and traction bronchiectasis at right middle, lower lobe and left lingular division. Video-assisted thoracic surgical biopsy at right lower lobe and pathologic examination revealed mixed dust pneumoconiosis. Polarized optical microscopy showed lung lesions were consisted of silica and carbon materials. She was a housewife and never been exposed to silica dusts occupationally. She has taken freshwater snails as a health-promoting food for 40 yr and ground shell powder was piled up on her backyard where she spent day-time. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy of snail shell and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy of lung lesion revealed that silica occupies important portion. Herein, we report the first known case of silicosis due to chronic inhalation of shell powder of freshwater snail.

WNT/ß-catenin pathway is modulated in asthma patients and LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophage cell line.

In the present study, we investigated the possibility that the WNT/ß-catenin pathway plays a role in inflammatory responses both in an human inflammatory condition and in an in vitro inflammation model. First, we analyzed gene expression patterns of the peripheral blood cells from asthma patients compared with those from normal subjects using microarray analyses. We found that intracellular signaling molecules of the WNT/ß-catenin pathway were significantly changed in asthma patients compared with the levels in the controls. Next, we determined whether major components of the WNT/ß-catenin pathway were involved in the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory response of the RAW264.7 macrophage cell line. Among the members of WNT/ß-catenin pathway, the protein levels of low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein (LRP) 6, dishevelled (DVL) 2, and AXIN1, which were measured using western blotting, did not significantly change in the presence of LPS. In contrast, the LPS induced a rapid phosphorylation of glycogen synthase kinase (GSK) 3ß and accumulation of ß-catenin protein. It was found that ß-catenin plays a significant role in the LPS-induced inflammatory response through the performance of small interfering RNA (siRNA) transfection experiments. The mRNA level of IL-6 was significantly elevated in ß-catenin siRNA-transfected cells compared with that in control siRNA-transfected cells after LPS treatment. Furthermore, nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) activity was also significantly increased in ß-catenin siRNA-transfected cells compared with the level seen in control siRNA-transfected cells. Taken together, these results suggest that ß-catenin plays a role as a negative regulator, preventing the overproduction of inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6 in LPS-induced inflammatory responses.

Cigarette smoke aggravates asthma by inducing memory-like type 3 innate lymphoid cells.

Although cigarette smoking is known to exacerbate asthma, only a few clinical asthma studies have been conducted involving smokers. Here we show, by comparing paired sputum and blood samples from smoking and non-smoking patients with asthma, that smoking associates with significantly higher frequencies of pro-inflammatory, natural-cytotoxicity-receptor-non-expressing type 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILC3) in the sputum and memory-like, CD45RO-expressing ILC3s in the blood. These ILC3 frequencies positively correlate with circulating neutrophil counts and M1 alveolar macrophage frequencies, which are known to increase in uncontrolled severe asthma, yet do not correlate with circulating eosinophil frequencies that characterize allergic asthma. In vitro exposure of ILCs to cigarette smoke extract induces expression of the memory marker CD45RO in ILC3s. Cigarette smoke extract also impairs the barrier function of airway epithelial cells and increases their production of IL-1ß, which is a known activating factor for ILC3s. Thus, our study suggests that cigarette smoking increases local and circulating frequencies of activated ILC3 cells, plays a role in their activation, thereby aggravating non-allergic inflammation and the severity of asthma.

Acute exacerbation of COPD increases the risk of hip fractures: a nested case-control study from the Korea National Health Insurance Service.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Hip fracture and acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AE-COPD) could increase mortality in patients with COPD. There are no data on the relationship between AE-COPD and hip fracture, which may significantly affect the prognosis of patients with COPD. Therefore, we conducted this study to determine the effects of AE-COPD on hip fractures in patients with COPD. METHODS: This retrospective, nested, case-control study included 253,471 patients with COPD (≥ 40 years of age) identified from the Korea National Health Insurance Service-National Health Screening Cohort (NHIS-HEALS) from 2002 to 2015. Among 176,598 patients with COPD, 1,415 patients with hip fractures were identified. Each case was matched to one control for age (within 10 years), sex, and year of COPD diagnosis. We estimated the adjusted odds ratios (aORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for hip fractures associated with AE-COPD using conditional logistic regression analysis, adjusting for underlying diseases and smoking history. RESULTS: In patients with AE-COPD, the risk of hip fracture was 2.50 times higher, regardless of systemic corticosteroid use and underlying disease (aOR, 2.50; 95% CI, 1.67 to 3.75). The risk of hip fracture increased if there was one episode of AE in the year before hip fractures (aOR, 2.25; 95% CI, 1.66 to 3.05). Moreover, the risk of hip fracture also increased in patients with more than two episodes of AE the year before hip fractures (aOR, 2.57; 95% CI, 1.61 to 4.10). CONCLUSION: AE-COPD increases the risk of hip fracture regardless of underlying diseases, including osteoporosis, and treatment with systemic corticosteroids.

Clinical predictors of treatment response to tiotropium add-on therapy in adult asthmatic patients: From multicenter real-world cohort data in Korea.

Background: Tiotropium, a long-acting muscarinic antagonist, is recommended for add-on therapy to inhaled corticosteroids (ICS)-long-acting beta 2 agonists (LABA) for severe asthma. However, real-world studies on the predictors of response to tiotropium are limited. We investigated the real-world use of tiotropium in asthmatic adult patients in Korea and we identified predictors of positive response to tiotropium add-on. Methods: We performed a multicenter, retrospective, cohort study using data from the Cohort for Reality and Evolution of Adult Asthma in Korea (COREA). We enrolled asthmatic participants who took ICS-LABA with at least 2 consecutive lung function tests at 3-month intervals. We compared tiotropium users and non-users, as well as tiotropium responders and non-responders to predict positive responses to tiotropium, defined as 1) increase in forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) ≥ 10% or 100 mL; and 2) increase in asthma control test (ACT) score ≥3 after 3 months of treatment. Results: The study included 413 tiotropium users and 1756 tiotropium non-users. Tiotropium users had low baseline lung function and high exacerbation rate, suggesting more severe asthma. Clinical predictors for positive response to tiotropium add-on were 1) positive bronchodilator response (BDR) [odds ratio (OR) = 6.8, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.6-47.4, P = 0.021] for FEV1 responders; 2) doctor-diagnosed asthma-chronic obstructive pulmonary disease overlap (ACO) [OR = 12.6, 95% CI: 1.8-161.5, P = 0.024], and 3) initial ACT score <20 [OR = 24.1, 95% CI: 5.45-158.8, P < 0.001] for ACT responders. FEV1 responders also showed a longer exacerbation-free period than those with no FEV1 increase (P = 0.014), yielding a hazard ratio for the first asthma exacerbation of 0.5 (95% CI: 0.3-0.9, P = 0.016). Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that tiotropium add-on for uncontrolled asthma with ICS-LABA would be more effective in patients with positive BDR or ACO. Additionally, an increase in FEV1 following tiotropium may predict a lower risk of asthma exacerbation.

Genetic association analysis of TAP1 and TAP2 polymorphisms with aspirin exacerbated respiratory disease and its FEV1 decline.

Aspirin exacerbated respiratory disease (AERD) induces bronchoconstriction in asthmatic patients characterized with a clinical condition of severe decline in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) after ingestion of aspirin. Two genes consisting a heterodimer, transporter 1 and 2, ATP-binding cassette, sub-family B (MDR/TAP) (TAP1 and TAP2) within the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) region, have been implicated in immunodeficiency and bronchiectasis development. To investigate the associations of TAP1 and TAP2 genetic polymorphisms with AERD and phenotypic FEV1 decline, a total of 43 common single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) including 12 SNPs of TAP1 and 31 SNPs of TAP2 were genotyped in 93 AERD patients and 96 aspirin-tolerant asthma controls. Interestingly, regression analysis revealed that polymorphisms and haplotypes of TAP2 were associated with FEV1 decline by aspirin provocation (P=0.002-0.04), with about twofold decline rate of FEV1 in most of minor homozygotes compared with major homozygotes. In addition, nominal evidences of association between TAP2 and AERD development were observed (P=0.02-0.04). However, TAP1 polymorphisms showed no relations to both AERD and FEV1 decline after aspirin challenge (P>0.05). Although further functional evaluations and replications are required, our preliminary findings provide supporting information that variants of TAP2 might be predisposing factors for FEV1 decline-related symptoms.