Predictive value of Piezo2 in BALF on the prognosis of ARDS patients

Mechanosensing and mechanotransduction are important processes that regulate pulmonary motility. Piezo2, as a mechanosensitive ion channel, was reported to be involved in the regulation of respiratory function in mice. However, it is unclear whether Piezo2 expression plays a role in disease progression in pulmonary dysfunction patients (such as ARDS patients). The aim of this study was to compare the expression of Piezo2 in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of ARDS patients and the association between Piezo2 and the prognosis of ARDS patients. Patients and methods This study was approved by the Biomedical Ethics Review Committee of West China Hospital of Sichuan University. Patients diagnosed with ARDS from May 2022 to December 2022 in the Department of Critical Care Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University were prospectively included. Then BALF was collected from every patient. The BALF was centrifuged, and the supernatant was taken for ELISA analysis. Basic information of the patients was recorded through the electronic medical record information system. Results We finally included 80 patients in this study. Compared with mild ARDS group, the level of piezo2 in BALF was significantly higher in moderate ARDS group (54.11 ± 8.113, 95%CI 37.75–70.48, P < 0.0001) and severe ARDS group (84.10 ± 15.44, 95%CI 53–115.2, P < 0.0001). To assess the Piezo2 value in predicting the development of ARDS patients, we graphed the ROC curve. It is revealed that Piezo2 in BALF could distinguish ARDS patients of different severity with areas under the curve (AUC) 0.9358 (95%CI 0.8667–1.00, P < 0.0001). Patients with higher level of Piezo2 had higher APACHE II score (16 ± 6.517 vs 24.4 ± 6.845, 95%CI 4.983–11.81, P < 0.0001), longer length of ICU stays (16.71 ± 9.717 vs 28.21 ± 13.78, 95%CI 4.84–18.15, P = 0.001). There was no significant difference in mortality with two groups (OR 1.42, 95%CI 0.43–4.66, P = 0.57) Conclusion Higher level of Piezo2 was correlated to worse progression of ARDS patients.