Eosinophil-derived neurotoxin: A biologically and analytically attractive asthma biomarker

PLoS One. 2021 Feb 10;16(2):e0246627. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0246627. eCollection 2021.

Abstract

There is a growing body of evidence for the utility of eosinophil-derived neurotoxin (EDN) as a biomarker in asthma, including association with eosinophilic airway inflammation, assessment of disease severity and potential for predicting pathogenic risks, including exacerbations. However, to interpret any biomarker data with confidence, it is first important to understand the preanalytical factors and biological variation that may affect its reliable measurement and results interpretation. In this study we defined the healthy serum EDN reference range for men and women as 1.98 to 26.10 ng/mL, with no significant gender differences. Smoking did not impact the mean EDN levels and no circadian rhythm was identified for EDN, unlike blood eosinophils (EOS) where levels peaked at 00:00h. EDN expression in different cell types was investigated and shown to occur primarily in eosinophils, indicating they are likely to be the main cellular repository for EDN. We also confirm that the quantification of serum EDN is not influenced by the type of storage tube used, and it is stable at ambient temperature or when refrigerated for at least 7 days and for up to one year when frozen at -20°C or -80°C. In summary, EDN is a stable biomarker that may prove useful in precision medicine approaches by enabling the identification of a subpopulation of asthma patients with activated eosinophils and a more severe form of the disease.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Asthma / blood
  • Asthma / immunology*
  • Biomarkers / blood
  • Eosinophil-Derived Neurotoxin / immunology*
  • Eosinophils / metabolism
  • Female
  • Healthy Volunteers
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Reference Values
  • Severity of Illness Index

Substances

  • Biomarkers
  • Eosinophil-Derived Neurotoxin

Associated data

  • Dryad/10.5061/dryad.wm37pvmm6

Grants and funding

BR, SY, MR, MO, NK, FS, MF, PN, AP, GH are employees of AstraZeneca. AstraZeneca provided financial support in the form of salaries, research materials and clinical trial costs. AstraZeneca did not have any further role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The role of these authors are articulated in the authors contribution section.