Airway autoantibodies are determinants of asthma severity.

Background: Local airway autoimmune responses may contribute to steroid dependence and persistent eosinophilia in severe asthma. Auto-IgG antibodies directed against granule proteins such as eosinophil peroxidase (EPX), macrophage scavenger receptor with collagenous structure (MARCO) and nuclear/extranuclear antigens (antinuclear antibodies (ANAs)) have been reported. Our objective was to describe the prevalence and clinical characteristics of asthmatic patients with airway autoreactivity, and to assess if this could be predicted from clinical history of autoreactivity.

Shortened Telomere Length in Sputum Cells of Bronchiectasis Patients is Associated with Dysfunctional Inflammatory Pathways.

Telomere attrition is an established ageing biomarker and shorter peripheral blood leukocyte telomere length has been associated with increased risks of respiratory diseases. However, whether telomere length in disease-relevant sputum immune cells of chronic respiratory disease patients is shortened and which pathways are dysfunctional are not clear. Here we measured telomere length from sputum samples of bronchiectasis and asthmatic subjects and determined that telomere length in sputum of bronchiectasis subjects was significantly shorter (Beta =  - 1.