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| Version | Summary | Created by | Modification | Content Size | Created at | Operation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maria Martin | + 2574 word(s) | 2574 | 2022-01-28 08:58:15 | | | |
| 2 | Lindsay Dong | -4 word(s) | 2570 | 2022-03-01 02:38:19 | | |
Different gene clusters have been identified to change upon omalizumab treatment, found a reduction in eosinophil-associated gene signatures after benralizumab treatment, and protein profiles were different in patients treated with mepolizumab and in those treated with benralizumab. The main potential biomarkers proposed by the selected studies are shown. These results may contribute to discovering biomarkers of response and selecting the best therapy for each patient.
Sridhar et al. [17] investigated the effects of benralizumab subcutaneous 100 mg every eight weeks on blood inflammatory markers through proteomic and gene expression analyses during two Phase II studies of patients with eosinophilic asthma. Results demonstrated that only two protein analytes, eotaxin-1 and eotaxin-2, were significantly upregulated following treatment with benralizumab in both asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), with higher levels in eosinophil-high patients than in eosinophil-low patients in both studies. Benralizumab was also associated with a significant reduction in the expression of genes related to eosinophils and basophils, such as CLC, IL5RA, and PFSS33; immune signaling complex genes (FCER1A); G-protein-coupled receptor genes (HRH4, ADORA3, P2RY14); and other immune-related genes (ALOX15 and OLIG2).
Severe asthma patients can show a steroid-resistant asthma phenotype. Benralizumab reduces the oral corticosteroid dosage while maintaining control in severe asthmatics with peripheral eosinophilia [18]. To elucidate whether benralizumab modified corticosteroid sensitivity by suppressing type-2 inflammation, Hirai et al. [19] analyzed the gene expression changes on T cells from patients with severe asthma treated with benralizumab. The study demonstrated that treatment with benralizumab in patients with severe corticodependent asthma could restore the expression levels of key molecules involved in steroid response through the PI3K pathway inactivation.
The first therapeutic antibody approved by FDA and EMA for persistent allergic asthma was the anti-IgE omalizumab (2003 and 2005, respectively). Anti-IL-5 monoclonal antibodies -mepolizumab and reslizumab- were approved by EMA for severe asthma with peripheral eosinophilia in 2015 and 2016, respectively. Dupilumab, an anti-IL4Rα, was approved in Europe in 2017 for atopic dermatitis and in 2019 for T2 asthma, while the anti-IL-5Rα benralizumab was approved for eosinophilic asthma in 2018 [24]. Therefore, their use for severe uncontrolled asthma is now usual, and many studies have been published regarding efficacy, safety, asthma control, and economic impact of all five biologicals in clinical settings [24][25][26].
Despite being widely used, few molecular studies have been conducted up to date in this field, and most of them refer to the expression of a specific gene or protein either in blood or airway tissues. Being the therapeutic antibodies directed against crucial molecules, such as IL-4, IL-5, or IgE, it is expected that a plethora of genes and proteins rather than a single one would be affected by the therapeutic antibody. Thus, a gene/protein signature, including both up and downregulated species, would constitute a more accurate measurement of response to treatment.
Current treatment guidelines for patients with severe, uncontrolled asthma with eosinophilia recommend anti-IL-5 therapy [1]. The mechanism of response to these anti-IL-5 antibodies, i.e., mepolizumab and reslizumab, has been mainly attributed to inhibition of IL-5 response on eosinophils. However, a recent study using dexpramipexole, which completely depletes all eosinophils, failed to show any significant improvement of symptoms [27], suggesting that eosinophils are not the only effector cells, and other cell types may also be involved. Also, targeting the IL-5 may not completely deplete eosinophils, leading to a poor response to therapy. Conversely, anti-IL-5Rα (benralizumab) rapidly depleted eosinophils and significantly reduced the rate of exacerbations for patients with uncontrolled eosinophilic asthma [28].
While mepolizumab and reslizumab target the same molecule and are likely to behave similarly, evaluation of anti-IL-5 (mepolizumab) and anti-IL-5Rα (benralizumab) in parallel may raise significant differences in gene expression. A couple of studies conducted by the same group compared serum proteomics of a severe asthmatic treated with mepolizumab or benralizumab and healthy controls [20][21]. When comparing the baseline with one month of treatment, an increase in ceruloplasmin was seen in the benralizumab-treated group but not in the mepolizumab-treated patients. Ceruloplasmin is a ferroxidase enzyme that forms free radicals [29], contributing to the antioxidant effect of treatment. The authors confirmed this result in a later article, and proposed ceruloplasmin as a potential biomarker for monitoring benralizumab treatment.
Besides ceruloplasmin, other potential biomarkers of response to benralizumab have been proposed. Thus, Nakajima et al. [30] identified four transcriptional clusters in blood from severe asthmatics, cluster 2 being the one that agglutinated most of the super-responders. These patients had the highest numbers of eosinophils, higher numbers of basophils, and higher expressions of genes related to eosinophil activities. Conversely, cluster 1 included poor responders to benralizumab. It was characterized by the upregulation of genes related to neutrophils, such as OLFM4, which is produced by neutrophils and has been associated with asthma inflammation [31], and CTSG, the neutrophil protease cathepsin G, which has been involved in neutrophilic asthma [32]. In this sense, it has been described that increased sputum neutrophils can be associated with exacerbations in patients treated with benralizumab [33]. Sridhar et al. also reported a significant reduction in the eosinophil signature upon benralizumab treatment, mainly in genes, such as CLC, OLIG2, and FCER1A [17]. CLCs are known as a classical hallmark of eosinophilic inflammation [34], OLIG2 is expressed in eosinophils and associated with the control of SIGLEC 8 expression [35], and FcεR1A (FCER1A) is the high affinity receptor for IgE and expressed on eosinophils and basophils [36].
Benralizumab treatment seemed to alter the expression level of genes and miRNAs related to the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway [19], which is known to have a regulatory role in allergic asthma [37]. Also, the inactivation of this pathway could modify the response to steroids, supporting the reduction of oral corticosteroid dosage observed in benralizumab-treated patients [25]. Other miRNAs have been proposed as biomarkers of response to treatment, i.e., miR-1246, miR-5100, and miR-338-3p [38], opening a new window of monitoring of the patient evolution.
Taking advantage of the use of anti-IL-22 (fezakinumab) in atopic dermatitis patients, Badi et al. built an FZ-response gene expression signature and evaluated whether it could be identified in severe asthmatic patients [23]. IL-22 is involved in atopic dermatitis and may be relevant in the atopic march [39]. Interestingly, they found that the FZ-response signature was enriched in neutrophilic (low T2) asthma patients, and therefore, they could benefit from fezakinumab treatment. It is worth noting that to date, there is no approved biologic for T2-low asthma [25], so this approach may open a new opportunity for these patients.
Although limited, data about changes on genomic and proteomic upon biological treatments for asthma published to date are very promising and may set the path for the use of biomarkers in response to these therapeutic antibodies. New trials that go deeper into the subject are mandatory to contrast and validate the current information, and some clinical trials aiming at studying the effects of benralizumab, omalizumab, and mepolizumab on transcriptome and proteome of patients are currently ongoing. Studies focused on the molecular aspects will be conducted and published in the coming years, as more and more patients benefit from this type of treatment. Multicenter, multiethnic, multiage trials including such a perspective would provide comprehensive information about the effects of biological therapies in a diverse population, allowing for a more accurate clustering of patients according to their molecular background. Strict inclusion criteria, exhaustive clinical characterization of patients, and best procedural and analytical practices will permit comparison between treatments, which stands out as a requirement for the efficient and cost-effective management of severe asthma.
Table 1. Summary of potential biomarkers of response to treatment. All molecules/pathways are upregulated upon treatment unless otherwise indicated (↓)
|
Treatment |
Genes/miRNAs |
Proteins |
Pathways |
|
Omalizumab |
CD3E |
|
Th2 response (CSF3, IL4, IL5, IL18 and SPI1) |
|
|
CD79 |
|
Th1 response (STAT1, STAT4, IL2 and SMARCR4) |
|
|
|
|
↓ Suppression of inflammation (TWIST1, FOXO1, FOXO3, TP53, CTNNB1, and SIM 1) |
|
Benralizumab |
↓miR-21-5p |
plasmin |
PI3K-associated genes (HDAC2, NFE2L2, GLCCI1, and PTEN) |
|
|
↓miR-1246 |
α-1antitrypsin |
|
|
|
↓miR-5100 |
plasminogen α-2 macroglobulin |
|
|
|
↓miR-338-3p |
ceruloplasmin |
|
|
|
|
eotaxin-1 |
|
|
|
|
eotaxin-2 |
|
|
Mepolizumab |
↓miR-195-5p |
|
Tight junction function (TJP3, ACTN4, and AMOT) |
|
|
↓miR-27b-3p |
|
|
|
|
miR-1260a |
|
|
|
|
miR-193a-5p |
|
|
|
|
miR-338-3p |
|
|