{"title":"Mepolizumab-Related Blood Eosinophil Decreases Are Associated with Clinical Remission in Severe Asthmatic Patients: A Real-World Study.","authors":"Matteo Bonato, Francesca Savoia, Enrico Orzes, Elisabetta Favero, Gianenrico Senna, Micaela Romagnoli","doi":"10.3390/antib14030061","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><b>Background</b>: Mepolizumab is an effective treatment for severe eosinophilic asthma, leading to a depletion of blood eosinophil levels, the clinical relevance of which remains unclear. <b>Objective</b>: The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between mepolizumab-induced blood eosinophil reduction and clinical outcome in patients with severe eosinophilic asthma, in particular, whether the magnitude of blood eosinophil reduction was associated with clinical remission. <b>Methods</b>: We conducted a real-world retrospective analysis of 58 adult patients with severe eosinophilic asthma treated with mepolizumab. Clinical and respiratory functional parameters were evaluated at the start of mepolizumab treatment (T0) and after two years of treatment (T2; mean follow-up: 22.8 ± 7.5 months). Blood eosinophil counts were recorded at T0 and during the first year of treatment (T1; mean follow-up: 7.7 ± 4.1 months). <b>Results</b>: After two years of mepolizumab treatment, 58 severe asthmatic patients showed significant improvements in ACT score, FVC, and FEV<sub>1</sub> and a reduction in acute exacerbations and the use of maintenance therapies. Clinical remission was achieved in 55.1% of patients. Lower blood eosinophil counts during the first year (T1) were associated with greater improvements in lung function and fewer exacerbations. A greater relative decrease in eosinophils from baseline to T1 (ΔEOS%) was significantly associated with remission, reductions in exacerbations, and no maintenance OCS use. ΔEOS% was the only independent predictor of remission in the multivariate analysis. A ≥90% reduction predicted remission with 80% specificity (AUC = 0.726). <b>Conclusions</b>: Monitoring blood eosinophils after mepolizumab initiation could be a useful tool for predicting long-term response to treatment. In particular, a reduction by over 90% of peripheral blood eosinophils during the first year of mepolizumab treatment predicts clinical remission with a specificity of 80%. Considering the accessibility and the low cost of this biomarker, it may help to optimize long-term asthma management.</p>","PeriodicalId":8188,"journal":{"name":"Antibodies","volume":"14 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7000,"publicationDate":"2025-07-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12372109/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Antibodies","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.3390/antib14030061","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"IMMUNOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Mepolizumab is an effective treatment for severe eosinophilic asthma, leading to a depletion of blood eosinophil levels, the clinical relevance of which remains unclear. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between mepolizumab-induced blood eosinophil reduction and clinical outcome in patients with severe eosinophilic asthma, in particular, whether the magnitude of blood eosinophil reduction was associated with clinical remission. Methods: We conducted a real-world retrospective analysis of 58 adult patients with severe eosinophilic asthma treated with mepolizumab. Clinical and respiratory functional parameters were evaluated at the start of mepolizumab treatment (T0) and after two years of treatment (T2; mean follow-up: 22.8 ± 7.5 months). Blood eosinophil counts were recorded at T0 and during the first year of treatment (T1; mean follow-up: 7.7 ± 4.1 months). Results: After two years of mepolizumab treatment, 58 severe asthmatic patients showed significant improvements in ACT score, FVC, and FEV1 and a reduction in acute exacerbations and the use of maintenance therapies. Clinical remission was achieved in 55.1% of patients. Lower blood eosinophil counts during the first year (T1) were associated with greater improvements in lung function and fewer exacerbations. A greater relative decrease in eosinophils from baseline to T1 (ΔEOS%) was significantly associated with remission, reductions in exacerbations, and no maintenance OCS use. ΔEOS% was the only independent predictor of remission in the multivariate analysis. A ≥90% reduction predicted remission with 80% specificity (AUC = 0.726). Conclusions: Monitoring blood eosinophils after mepolizumab initiation could be a useful tool for predicting long-term response to treatment. In particular, a reduction by over 90% of peripheral blood eosinophils during the first year of mepolizumab treatment predicts clinical remission with a specificity of 80%. Considering the accessibility and the low cost of this biomarker, it may help to optimize long-term asthma management.
期刊介绍:
Antibodies (ISSN 2073-4468), an international, peer-reviewed open access journal which provides an advanced forum for studies related to antibodies and antigens. It publishes reviews, research articles, communications and short notes. Our aim is to encourage scientists to publish their experimental and theoretical results in as much detail as possible. There is no restriction on the length of the papers. Full experimental and/or methodical details must be provided. Electronic files or software regarding the full details of the calculation and experimental procedure - if unable to be published in a normal way - can be deposited as supplementary material. This journal covers all topics related to antibodies and antigens, topics of interest include (but are not limited to): antibody-producing cells (including B cells), antibody structure and function, antibody-antigen interactions, Fc receptors, antibody manufacturing antibody engineering, antibody therapy, immunoassays, antibody diagnosis, tissue antigens, exogenous antigens, endogenous antigens, autoantigens, monoclonal antibodies, natural antibodies, humoral immune responses, immunoregulatory molecules.