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. 2022 Jul:298:134277.
doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.134277. Epub 2022 Mar 9.

Elevated serum periostin levels among arsenic-exposed individuals and their associations with the features of asthma

Selim Reza Tony  1 , Nazmul Haque  1 , Abu Eabrahim Siddique  2 , Moriom Khatun  1 , Mizanur Rahman  1 , Zohurul Islam  1 , Md Shofikul Islam  3 , Jahidul Islam  1 , Shakhawoat Hossain  1 , Md Ashraful Hoque  1 , Zahangir Alam Saud  1 , Daigo Sumi  4 , Abdus S Wahed  5 , Aaron Barchowsky  6 , Seiichiro Himeno  7 , Khaled Hossain  8
Affiliations

Elevated serum periostin levels among arsenic-exposed individuals and their associations with the features of asthma

Selim Reza Tony et al. Chemosphere. 2022 Jul.

Abstract

Chronic exposure to arsenic via drinking water is a serious public health issue in many countries. Arsenic causes not only cancers but also non-malignant diseases, including asthma. We have previously reported that arsenic exposure increases the risk of Th2-mediated allergic asthma. The serum level of periostin, an extracellular matrix protein activated by Th2 cytokines, is recognized as a biomarker for Th2-mediated eosinophilic asthma and contributes to enhanced airway inflammation and remodeling. However, the role of periostin in arsenic-related asthma is unknown. Therefore, this study was designed to explore the associations of serum periostin levels with arsenic exposure and the features of asthma in 442 individuals in Bangladesh who participated in our previous study. Exposure levels of the participants were determined by measuring the arsenic concentrations in drinking water, hair, and nails through inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy. Periostin levels in serum were assessed by immunoassay. In this study, we found that serum periostin levels of the participants were increased with increasing exposure to arsenic. Notably, even the participants with 10.1-50 μg/L arsenic in drinking water had significantly higher levels of periostin than participants with <10 μg/L of water arsenic. Elevated serum periostin levels were positively associated with serum levels of Th2 mediators, such as interleukin (IL)-4, IL-5, IL-13, and eotaxin. Each log increase in periostin levels was associated with approximately eight- and three-fold increases in the odds ratios (ORs) for reversible airway obstruction (RAO) and asthma symptoms, respectively. Additionally, causal mediation analyses revealed that arsenic exposure metrics had both direct and indirect (periostin-mediated) effects on the risk of RAO and asthma symptoms. Thus, the results suggested that periostin may be involved in the arsenic-related pathogenesis of Th2-mediated asthma. The elevated serum periostin levels may predict the greater risk of asthma among the people living in arsenic-endemic areas.

Keywords: Arsenic; Asthma; Periostin; Th2 mediators.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of interests

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Comparison of serum periostin levels in the four groups (≤10, 10.1–50, 50.1–150, and >150 μg/L) of the participants based on their drinking water arsenic levels. Results are presented as mean ± SE. The p-values were from one way ANOVA (F-test). a, b Significantly different from the ≤10 and 10.1–50 μg/L groups, respectively. Asterisks indicate the significant differences among groups at *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Directed Acyclic Graph representing the causal association between arsenic exposure levels and asthma outcomes (RAO/asthma symptoms) mediated by periostin. A (exposure): arsenic metrics; M (mediator): periostin; C (confounders not affected by the exposure): age, sex, BMI, smoking; and Y (outcome): RAO/asthma symptoms.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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