Expression levels of RhoA in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of asthma patients allergic to dust mites

Objective To detect the expression of RhoA in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid(BLF) from asthma patients allergic to dust mites and study its clinical significance.Methods BLF was collected from 47 mite-allergic asthma patients,15 asthma patients non-allergic to dust mites and 7 healthy volunteers to detect RhoA expression by immunohistochemistry.Results The total positivity rates of RhoA expression were 66.7% in mite-allergic asthma patients,70.2% in asthma patients non-allergic to dust mites and 0 in healthy volunteers,showing significant difference between the 3 groups(P0.01).No statistical difference was observed in RhoA expression levels between male and female asthma patients allergic to dust mites(P0.05).The total positivity rate was 83.3% in asthma children allergic to dust mites,higher than that in other patients with different ages,but their RhoA expression levels showed no significant differences(P0.05).The total positive rates were 33.3%,57.9%,88.2% and 100.0% in patients with clinical grades I,II,III and IV,showing significant differences(P0.05).Conclusions The positivity rate of RhoA in the BLF is higher in asthma patients allergic to dust mites than in normal healthy subjects,increases with the clinical grade.