Extract
Bronchiectasis is a chronic respiratory disease with neutrophilic airway inflammation playing a prominent role in its pathophysiology [1]. The inflammatory process depends on the release of neutrophil elastase and subsequent formation of neutrophil extracellular traps to facilitate the neutralisation of pathogens. An excessive release of neutrophil elastase can lead to several damaging lung effects, including mucus gland stimulation, increase in sputum production, impairment in ciliary beat frequency and extracellular matrix and airway epithelia destruction. The activity of neutrophil elastase (aNE) has been evaluated previously in sputum samples of a Scottish cohort of bronchiectasis patients [2]. The authors demonstrated that increased levels of aNE in sputum are associated with disease severity and poor clinical outcomes. This experience identified neutrophil elastase as one of the most promising biomarkers in bronchiectasis and, subsequently, a point-of-care assay for aNE was validated [3].
Abstract
Activity of neutrophil elastase is a generalisable biomarker related to disease severity and clinical characteristics across different populations of patients with bronchiectasishttps://bit.ly/2XKDUqn
Footnotes
Conflict of interest: A. Gramegna has nothing to disclose.
Conflict of interest: S. Aliberti reports grants and personal fees from Bayer Healthcare, Aradigm Corporation, Grifols, Chiesi and INSMED, personal fees from AstraZeneca, Basilea, Zambon, Novartis, Raptor, Actavis UK Ltd and Horizon, outside the submitted work.
Conflict of interest: O. Sibila has nothing to disclose.
Conflict of interest: C. Di Francesco has nothing to disclose.
Conflict of interest: G. Sotgiu has nothing to disclose.
Conflict of interest: L. Perea has nothing to disclose.
Conflict of interest: L. Terranova has nothing to disclose.
Conflict of interest: M. Oriano has nothing to disclose.
Conflict of interest: T. Pilocane has nothing to disclose.
Conflict of interest: L. Saderi has nothing to disclose.
Conflict of interest: J.D. Chalmers reports grants and personal fees from AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, GlaxoSmithKline and Insmed, personal fees from Zambon and Chiesi, grants from Gilead Sciences, outside the submitted work.
Conflict of interest: P. Marchisio has nothing to disclose.
Conflict of interest: F. Blasi reports grants and personal fees from AstraZeneca, Chiesi, GSK, Insmed and Pfizer, grants from Bayer, personal fees from Guidotti, Grifols, Menarini, Mundipharma, Novartis and Zambon, outside the submitted work.
- ReceivedMay 10, 2020.
- AcceptedJune 3, 2020.
- Copyright ©ERS 2020