Is CCL18 a potential biomarker of type-2 asthma?

Introduction: Identifying markers of T2 endotypes remains of major interest for the personalized treatment approach of asthma. Previous data suggest that the C-C Motif Chemokine Ligand 18 (CCL18) may be a marker of allergic asthma endotype. Objectives: We evaluated the association between CCL18 levels and phenotypic characteristics of asthma. Methods: We included a sample of asthmatic adults from the Cohort of Bronchial obstruction and Asthma (COBRA) (ethics committee 09-11962). We collected demographic, clinical, biological and functional data, and measured CCL18 in the serum of the COBRA biological collection by Specific Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent assay (RD 71% had at least one positive skin tests to aeroallergens and 35% had blood eosinophilia >300/mm3. Asthma control was unacceptable and suboptimal in 27.5% and 30.5% of patients, respectively. The median level of CCL18 was 44.1±27.5 ng/mL. In univariate analysis, CCL18 level was associated with age (+1.2% [0.7;1.6] per 1-year increase, p Conclusion: CCL18 is likely not a reliable biomarker of allergic asthma. . Its link with nasal polyposis suggests that it could rather be a marker of eosinophilic asthma.