Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi, 6205, Bangladesh.
Department of Biological Sciences, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, 14260, USA.
Chemosphere. 2022 Jul;298:134277. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.134277. Epub 2022 Mar 9.
Chronic exposure to arsenic via drinking water is a serious public health issue in many countries. Arsenic causes not only cancers but also non-malignant diseases, including asthma. We have previously reported that arsenic exposure increases the risk of Th2-mediated allergic asthma. The serum level of periostin, an extracellular matrix protein activated by Th2 cytokines, is recognized as a biomarker for Th2-mediated eosinophilic asthma and contributes to enhanced airway inflammation and remodeling. However, the role of periostin in arsenic-related asthma is unknown. Therefore, this study was designed to explore the associations of serum periostin levels with arsenic exposure and the features of asthma in 442 individuals in Bangladesh who participated in our previous study. Exposure levels of the participants were determined by measuring the arsenic concentrations in drinking water, hair, and nails through inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy. Periostin levels in serum were assessed by immunoassay. In this study, we found that serum periostin levels of the participants were increased with increasing exposure to arsenic. Notably, even the participants with 10.1-50 μg/L arsenic in drinking water had significantly higher levels of periostin than participants with <10 μg/L of water arsenic. Elevated serum periostin levels were positively associated with serum levels of Th2 mediators, such as interleukin (IL)-4, IL-5, IL-13, and eotaxin. Each log increase in periostin levels was associated with approximately eight- and three-fold increases in the odds ratios (ORs) for reversible airway obstruction (RAO) and asthma symptoms, respectively. Additionally, causal mediation analyses revealed that arsenic exposure metrics had both direct and indirect (periostin-mediated) effects on the risk of RAO and asthma symptoms. Thus, the results suggested that periostin may be involved in the arsenic-related pathogenesis of Th2-mediated asthma. The elevated serum periostin levels may predict the greater risk of asthma among the people living in arsenic-endemic areas.
长期饮用含砷水会导致砷暴露，这是许多国家面临的严重公共卫生问题。砷不仅会引发癌症，还会导致非恶性疾病，包括哮喘。我们之前的研究报告指出，砷暴露会增加 Th2 介导的过敏性哮喘的风险。骨桥蛋白是一种受 Th2 细胞因子激活的细胞外基质蛋白，其血清水平被认为是 Th2 介导的嗜酸性粒细胞性哮喘的生物标志物，可导致气道炎症和重塑增强。然而，骨桥蛋白在砷相关性哮喘中的作用尚不清楚。因此，本研究旨在探讨血清骨桥蛋白水平与孟加拉国 442 名参与者的砷暴露和哮喘特征之间的关系，这些参与者曾参与我们之前的研究。通过电感耦合等离子体质谱法测量饮用水、头发和指甲中的砷浓度来确定参与者的暴露水平。通过免疫测定法评估血清中骨桥蛋白的水平。在这项研究中，我们发现参与者的血清骨桥蛋白水平随砷暴露量的增加而升高。值得注意的是，即使参与者饮用水中的砷含量为 10.1-50μg/L，其骨桥蛋白水平也明显高于饮用水中砷含量<10μg/L 的参与者。升高的血清骨桥蛋白水平与 Th2 介质（如白细胞介素（IL）-4、IL-5、IL-13 和 eotaxin）的血清水平呈正相关。骨桥蛋白水平每增加一个对数，可逆性气道阻塞（RAO）和哮喘症状的比值比（OR）分别增加约 8 倍和 3 倍。此外，因果中介分析表明，砷暴露指标对 RAO 和哮喘症状的风险具有直接和间接（骨桥蛋白介导）的影响。因此，研究结果表明，骨桥蛋白可能参与了 Th2 介导的砷相关性哮喘的发病机制。血清骨桥蛋白水平升高可能预示着生活在砷污染地区的人群患哮喘的风险更高。
