MCP-1/CCL2 in a Bulgarian Cohort of Children with Bronchial Asthma and Cystic Fibrosis

C-C motif chemokine ligand 2 (CCL2), also called monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) is a key β-chemokine involved in the migration of monocytes and macrophages, playing a significant role in the inflammatory responses in the airways. We aimed to assess the serum levels of MCP-1/CCL2 in a pilot cross-sectional study of Bulgarian children with bronchial asthma (BA) and cystic fibrosis (CF).

Forty-two children were recruited to the study as follows: twenty with BA, twelve with CF and ten healthy children. Serum MCP-1/CCL2 levels were measured using ELISA.

We found higher serum level of MCP-1/CCL2 in children with BA (191.09±64.96 pg/ml) and CF (258.51±76.45 pg/ml) compared to healthy children (70.30±64.30 pg/ml, p=0.022, and p=0.068, respectively). Younger patients with BA had higher levels of MCP-1/CCL2, as well as children with CF, with levels decreasing gradually with age. We observed also higher levels of MCP-1/CCL2 in children with moderate to severe BA compared to mild BA.

We documented the significantly higher level of MCP-1/CCL2 in children with these chronic pulmonary diseases than in healthy controls. Moreover, children with moderate to severe BA showed higher levels of MCP-1/CCL2 compared to mild BA. Our observations on the chronic lung inflammation in BA and CF through the selective recruiting of monocytes, neutrophils, and lymphocytes in the lung tissue, possibly maintained under the MCP-1/CCL2 signals, suggest that investigation of serum MCP-1/CCL2 levels could turn out to be beneficial for the severity of the disease.

Keywords: MCP-1, CCL2, childhood asthma, bronchial asthma, cystic fibrosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, C-C motif chemokine ligand 2.