The role of connexin 43 in the pathogenesis of bronchial asthma in children

BACKGROUND: With the remarkable growth of research on the mechanisms of asthma development, it is becoming evident that the field of intercellular communication and auxiliary messengers represents a promising research sector. The accumulated experience presented in the literature emphasizes the importance of ion channels, defining them as possible key elements of asthma pathogenesis in terms of molecular complexes and intercellular disorders. Their significance lies not only in the direct regulation of immunocompetent cells, but also in the activity of others involved in asthma pathogenesis, including epithelial cells and smooth muscle cells of the airways. However, additional studies are needed to fully elucidate their role in the pathophysiology of asthma, in particular, the functional role of gap junction connexins in intercellular communication, their participation in maintaining cellular and tissue homeostasis at asthma.

AIM: To analyze connexin 43 levels in the blood serum of children with asthma of varying severity.

METHODS: A single-center prospective continuous study was conducted for the period from 2023 to 2024 using laboratory, statistical, analytical research methods, ongoing observation and desk research. 125 children with an established diagnosis of bronchial asthma and 30 children of health groups I and IIa included in the control group were examined. Clinical examination included anamnesis and physical examination of the study participants. To determine laboratory parameters, blood was taken from the cubital vein in this group. Quantitative determination of the connexin level in the blood serum was carried out by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using the SEA277Hu kit, Cloud-Clone Corporation (Wuhan, China). Statistical processing of the results was carried out using Statistica 12.0 for Windows software package.

RESULTS: In patients suffering from bronchial asthma the connexin 43 levels in the blood serum of 0.24 [0.19; 0.34] ng/mL exceed the results established in the control group of 0.16 [0.13; 0.19] ng/mL (p = 0.0002). Moreover, the values recorded in the group of patients with severe course of the disease are higher than in the group of patients with mild manifestations of bronchial asthma (p <0.0001). It was shown that in bronchial asthma patients with polyvalent sensitization, the concentration of Cx43 in the blood serum is higher (0.39 [0.36; 0.42] ng/mL) compared to patients who note an allergic reaction to one type of allergen (0.20 [0.17; 0.25] ng/mL) (p <0.0001).

CONCLUSION: Connexin 43 plays an important role in the pathogenesis of bronchial asthma, and the study of changes in the concentration of this cytokine in patients with varying severity of bronchial asthma manifestations is of great scientific and practical interest.