Serum CDC42 Reflects the Exacerbation Risk and Severity, Th1/2 Cell Imbalance and Inflammation in Asthmatic Children

Figures & data

Table 1. Clinical characteristics of healthy controls, asthmatic children in remission and asthmatic children experiencing exacerbation.

Variable	HCs (N = 40)	Asthmatic children in remission (N = 80)	Asthmatic children experiencing exacerbation (N = 80)	p-value
Age, mean ± SD (years)	7.6 ± 2.8	7.4 ± 2.9	7.3 ± 3.0	0.867
Sex, n (%)				0.541
– Female	20 (50.0)	36 (45.0)	43 (53.8)
– Male	20 (50.0)	44 (55.0)	37 (46.2)
Height, mean ± SD (cm)	127.6 ± 18.9	124.7 ± 17.0	124.5 ± 17.3	0.628
Weight, mean ± SD (kg)	28.0 ± 11.4	25.9 ± 9.7	25.5 ± 9.0	0.385
BMI, mean ± SD (kg/m^2)	16.5 ± 2.1	16.1 ± 1.5	15.9 ± 1.4	0.209
Family history of asthma, n (%)				0.086
– No	36 (90.0)	60 (75.0)	58 (72.5)
– Yes	4 (10.0)	20 (25.0)	22 (27.5)
Exacerbation severity, n (%)				–
– Mild	–	–	17 (21.3)
– Moderate	–	–	45 (56.3)
– Severe	–	–	18 (22.5)
Eosinophil count (10^9/l), median (IQR)	0.1 (0.1–0.1)	0.2 (0.1–0.3)	0.5 (0.3–0.7)	<0.001
IgE, IU/ml, median (IQR)	32.5 (24.8–58.9)	80.7 (52.3–122.3)	234.8 (157.8–375.2)	<0.001
FEV1/FVC, mean ± SD (%)	83.8 ± 4.3	78.3 ± 4.0	67.7 ± 7.1	<0.001
FEV1, predicted, mean ± SD (%)	98.7 ± 6.7	88.4 ± 5.1	77.7 ± 6.7	<0.001

FEV1: Forced expiratory volume in 1 s; FVC: Forced vital capacity; HCs: Healthy controls; IQR: Interquartile range; SD: Standard deviation.

Figure 1. CDC42 in healthy controls, asthmatic children in remission and asthmatic children experiencing exacerbation.

(A) Comparison of CDC42 in healthy controls, asthmatic children in remission and asthmatic children experiencing exacerbation. (B) ROC curve analysis of CDC42 among healthy controls, asthmatic children in remission and asthmatic children experiencing exacerbation.

Figure 2. Comparison of CDC42 in asthmatic children experiencing exacerbation of differing severity.

Figure 3. T-helper cells and inflammatory cytokines in healthy controls, asthmatic children in remission and asthmatic children experiencing exacerbation.

(A–I) Comparison of (A) Th1 cells, (B) Th2 cells, (C) Th1/Th2 ratio, (D) IFN-γ, (E) IL-4, (F) IFN-γ/IL-4 ratio, (G) TNF-α, (H) IL-6 and (I) IL-8 in healthy controls, asthmatic children in remission and asthmatic children experiencing exacerbation.

Figure 4. Correlation of CDC42 with T-helper cells in asthmatic children experiencing exacerbation.

(A–F) Association of CDC42 with (A) Th1 cells, (B) Th2 cells, (C) Th1/Th2 ratio, (D) IFN-γ, (E) IL-4 and (F) IFN-γ/IL-4 ratio in asthmatic children experiencing exacerbation.

Figure 5. Correlation of CDC42 with inflammatory cytokines in asthmatic children experiencing exacerbation.

(A–C) Association of CDC42 with (A) TNF-α, (B) IL-6 and (C) IL-8 in asthmatic children experiencing exacerbation.

Table 2. Correlation of CDC42 with Th1/Th2 imbalance and inflammatory cytokines in healthy controls and asthmatic children in remission.

Variable	HCs		Asthmatic children in remission
	r	p-value	r	p-value
Th1 cells (%)	-0.099	0.662	-0.121	0.418
Th2 cells (%)	0.379	0.082	0.243	0.099
Th1/Th2 ratio	-0.340	0.121	-0.320	0.028
IFN-γ (pg/ml)	-0.220	0.173	-0.191	0.090
IL-4 (pg/ml)	0.247	0.124	0.225	0.045
IFN-γ/IL-4 ratio	-0.293	0.066	-0.276	0.013
TNF-α (pg/ml)	0.272	0.090	0.249	0.026
IL-6 (pg/ml)	0.253	0.116	0.181	0.108
IL-8 (pg/ml)	0.224	0.165	0.144	0.203

HCs: Healthy controls.