Assessment of Ceruloplasmin, Hemopexin, and Haptoglobin in Asthmatic Children

BACKGROUND: Ceruloplasmin (Cp), haptoglobin, and hemopexin play a role in iron homeostasis and may function to modulate the systemic inflammatory response and be involved in tissue repair. We hypothesized that these proteins could be biological markers for bronchial asthma that reflect the involvement of iron oxidative stress in asthma pathogenesis.\r\nAIM: Evaluation of serum levels of proteins involved in iron homeostasis (Cp, hemopexin, and haptoglobin) in asthmatic children and their correlation to pulmonary functions.\r\nMATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty moderate to severe persistent asthmatic children aged 6–13 years were included (30 during attacks and 30 in-between attacks). Thirty healthy matched controls were also recruited. All children were subjected to history taking, clinical evaluation and assessment of complete blood picture, serum levels of Cp, haptoglobin, hemopexin, and total IgE. Pulmonary function tests were assessed for all patients.\r\nRESULTS: Serum Cp and haptoglobin were significantly elevated in asthmatic children between attacks (448.04 ± 386.79), (993.33 ± 554.56) compared to controls (168.42 ± 13.46), (473.33 ± 350.3), (p = 0.0002, p \u003c 0.0001) and to asthmatics during exacerbations (288.8 ± 219.6), (620 ± 467.86), (p = 0.014, p = 0.006). Serum hemopexin was significantly higher in asthmatics between attacks (509.33 ± 341.51) compared to controls (296.67 ± 158.38) (p \u003c 0.003) but no significant difference compared to acute exacerbations (477.33 ± 396.6). No significant correlations were found between any of the assessed protein levels and pulmonary functions. Hemoglobin concentration was significantly higher among stable asthmatics compared to acute exacerbation and control groups.\r\nCONCLUSION: Cp, haptoglobin, and hemopexin can be used as a panel of non-invasive biomarkers that reflect the involvement of iron oxidative stress in asthma pathogenesis.