The role of periostin in cystic fibrosis and severity of disease in children with cystic fibrosis

<bold>Introduction:</bold> Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is a chronic inflammatory disease caused by mutations in the CFTR gene. Recent studies show that periostin, a new inflammatory biomarker, is linked to inflammation in lung diseases, but there is no study in the literature for patients with CF. We aim to investigate the role of periostin in children with CF. <bold>Methods:</bold> All 6-18 year-old patients with CF without exacerbations and healthy children in the same age group were included. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory parameters were compared between the two groups. The correlation between clinical parameters and the periostin in the CF group was analyzed. <bold>Results:</bold> A total of 29 patients with CF and 35 healthy children were included; there were no differences in terms of gender and age between the two groups (p>0.05). In CF group, pancreatic insufficiency was 80%, the mean Shwachman-Kulcyzki Score (mSKS) was 90 (65-100), colonization was present in 60%, and the mean FVC, FEV1, MEF25/75 was 82% (32-123), 85% (33-130), 99% (31-191), respectively. The mean serum periostin levels were 34.7± 33.9 in patients with CF, and 16.7±7.6 in healthy children (p=0.26). There was no correlation between periostin and age at diagnosis, current age, follow-up duration, number of exacerbations, BMI, FEV1, FVC and FEV1/FVC z scores, and mSKS of children with CF (p>0.05). <bold>Conclusions:</bold> We showed that plasma periostin levels were increased in children with CF. Periostin may have a partial role in the pathogenesis of CF, but it is not associated with severity in children with CF. Funding: This study was funded by TUBITAK 2209-A.