Scientists at Rutgers Health have identified a potential blood test for diagnosing asthma and assessing its severity. The discovery could change the way asthma is diagnosed and monitored, as published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
The study revealed that patients with asthma exhibit significantly elevated levels of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) in their blood—up to 1,000 times higher than those without the condition. Reynold Panettieri, a senior author of the study and vice chancellor for Translational Medicine and Science at Rutgers University, explained: “What we discovered is a specific transporter, a protein on the membrane of airway smooth muscle cells, allows cAMP to leak into the blood.”
This finding has important implications for approximately 1 in 20 Americans who suffer from asthma. Current diagnostic methods require advanced breathing tests often unavailable to young children. Panettieri noted: “It’s really difficult to do lung function tests in kids under the age of 5,” suggesting that a simple pinprick test might diagnose these children.
The research involved analyzing blood samples from 87 asthma patients and 273 non-asthmatic participants. Results showed consistently higher cAMP levels in asthmatic individuals, correlating with disease severity.
Urban areas could particularly benefit from this discovery due to higher asthma rates. “If you look at city dwellers, about 1 in 15 people has asthma,” said Panettieri.
Researchers are collaborating with companies to develop an office-based point-of-care test. Initial efforts using lateral flow devices were not sensitive enough; however, more sensitive fluorescent markers are being explored. Panettieri anticipates progress within six months: “We would anticipate maybe in the next six months, we’ll have nailed the fidelity of it…and then in a year to two, it could become available.”
Beyond diagnosis, understanding the cAMP transporter mechanism may lead to new treatments. Steven An, professor of pharmacology at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and first author of the study stated: “By targeting the newly discovered transporter, future treatments might prevent the loss of cAMP.”
Future research will involve larger patient groups to explore how cAMP levels relate to different asthma subtypes. As Panettieri remarked: “Every disease we study or treat is not one disease.”
Ultimately, this development could aid doctors in identifying which patients require more aggressive treatment and monitoring therapy responses more effectively.
