Hepatocyte growth factor levels are elevated in patients with Asthma
Keywords:
Asthma, HGF,, serum, AHR , pathogenesis,, airway remodeling.Abstract
Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a multifunctional polypeptide with a broad range of functions. It acts as
an endocrine, paracrine and autocrine factor and regulates a wide range of cellular processes such as cell
survival, proliferation, migration and differentiation. Recently, some animal experiments suggest that HGF
play important part role in the pathogenesis of asthma. On the basis of these results, the present study
was designed to determine whether serum HGF levels are elevated in patients with asthma, and whether
its level are associated with the severity of disease. We found that HGF levels were significantly higher in
three asthmatic patient groups as compared with healthy control group [9.8 (6.3-14.5), 11.4 (8.5-16.2), 13.7
(9.9-18.3) and 2.3 (1.6-3.7) ng/mL, respectively, P<0.01]. The HGF levels were also elevated associated with
the severity of disease, but this difference was not significant. The data suggest a role for HGF in the
pathogenesis of asthma. Further studies are needed to clarify the involvement of HGF in various aspects
of asthma.
