Lipid mediators are detectable in the nasal epithelium and differ by asthma status in female subjects

Background Lipid mediators, bioactive products of polyunsaturated fatty acid metabolism, contribute to inflammation initiation and resolution in allergic diseases; however, their presence in lung-related biosamples has not been fully described. Objective We aimed to quantify lipid mediators in the nasal airway epithelium and characterize preliminary associations with asthma. Methods Using liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry, we conducted a pilot study to quantify 56 lipid mediators from nasal epithelial samples collected from 11 female participants of an outpatient asthma clinic and community controls (aged 30-55 years). We examined the presence of each compound using descriptive statistics to test whether lipid mediators could distinguish subjects with asthma (n = 8) from control subjects (n = 3) using linear regression and partial least squares discriminant analysis. Results Fifteen lipid mediators were detectable in all samples, including resolvin (Rv) D5 (RvD5), with the highest median concentrations (in pg/μg protein) of 13-HODE (126.481), 15-HETE (32.869), and 13-OxoODE (13.251). From linear regression adjusted for age, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) had a trend (P < .1) for higher concentrations in patients with severe asthma compared to controls (mean difference, 0.95; 95% confidence interval, −0.04 to 1.95). Asthma patients had higher scores on principal component 3 compared to controls (mean difference, 2.42; 95% confidence interval, 0.89 to 3.96), which represented lower levels of proresolving 15-HEPE, 19,20-DiHDPA, RvD5, 14-HDHA, 17-HDHA, and 13-HOTrE. Most of these compounds were best at discriminating asthma cases from controls in partial least squares discriminant analysis. Conclusion Lipid mediators are detectable in the nasal epithelium, and their levels distinguish asthma cases from controls.