Establishment of biomarkers for severity and treatment in Asthma, COPD and ACO

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K17434
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 54020:Connective tissue disease and allergy-related
• Research Institution: Kurume University
• Principal Investigator: Kaku Yoichiro 久留米大学, 医学部, 助教 (50569423)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 気管支喘息 / 慢性閉塞性肺疾患 / マクロファージ

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The aim of this study was to be useful whether alveolar M2-like macrophages could be a distinguishable biomarker for asthma, COPD and Asthma-COPD overlap (ACO). The CD68 and CD163 positive cells were increased in lung tissues obtained from patients with severe asthma and COPD, when compared with healthy subjects. However, those cells proliferated the walls of small bronchi in asthma, but intra-alveolar in COPD. The distribution of M2-like macrophages was different in the lung between asthma and COPD, probably due to the difference in their pathogenesis. The findings were considered to be useful for differentiating between diseases. However, the distribution of CD68 and CD163 positive cells in the lungs still remained unclear in patients with ACO, because we could not obtain the lung tissues from patients with ACO.

Free Research Field

呼吸器内科

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

気管支ぜん息および慢性閉塞性肺疾患患者は日本の人口の約10%を占めるとされ、申請者の研究はそれぞれの病態解明に寄与することでそれぞれの新たな検査法や治療法の開発に寄与すると考えられる。またそれぞれの合併病態患者の治療法の確立に貢献すると思われる。