Serum apelin-12 level is elevated in schoolchildren with atopic asthma

Background: There are limited data on the role of adipokines in atopic asthma. Aim: To determine serum level of apelin-12 (APE-12) in asthmatic children in relation to BMI and gender. Methods: Serum APE-12 levels were measured using ELISA in 89 asthmatic children (61 boys and 28 girls, aged 7.0-17.0 years) and in 33 healthy children. Among examined asthmatics 59 (19 girls and 40 boys) had normal weight and 30 (9 girls and 21 boys) were obese. Results: The mean serum levels of APE-12 were significantly (p < 0.001) higher both in obese (174.1 +/- 5.9 pg/mL) and non-obese asthmatic children (171.0 +/- 4.0 pg/mL) than in healthy children (130.6 +/- 2.1 pg/mL), regardless of gender. No relationships between examined the adipokine level and asthma severity, spirometric parameters, degree of allergic sensitization, BMI, BMI-SDS were observed. Conclusion: Increased serum level of APE-12 suggests that this adipokine may be implicated in the pathogenesis of childhood atopic asthma. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.