Salivary Inflammatory Mediator Profiling and Correlation to Clinical Disease Markers in Asthma

Rationale There is a need for a readily available, non-invasive source of biomarkers that predict poor asthma control. Objectives We sought to determine if there is an association between the salivary inflammatory profile and disease control in children and adults with asthma. Methods In this cross-sectional study, we collected demographic and clinical information from two independent populations at different sites, resulting in convenience samples of 58 pediatric and 122 adult urban asthmatics. Control was assessed by symptom questionnaire (children) and by Asthma Control Questionnaire and current exacerbation (adults). Saliva was collected in all subjects. We applied principal component analysis to a 10-plex panel of relevant inflammatory markers to characterize marker profiles and determined if profiles were associated with asthma control. Results There were similar, strong correlations amongst biologically related markers in both populations: eosinophil-related: eotaxin-1/CCL11, RANTES/CCL5, and IL-5 (p