Allergies are heterogeneous conditions that can be considered using phenotype, endotype, and biomarkers as
diagnostic and prognostic criteria.
The phenotype includes special clinical features of a disease with no direct reference
to its pathogenesis and response to treatment. For example, asthma can be divided into allergic phenotype
and non-allergic phenotype.
Endotype represents a phenotypic subgroup of a disease characterized by particular cellular
and molecular mechanisms and therapy response. For example, there are two main endotypes of allergic asthma,
Th2-high/eosinophilic endotype and Th2-low/Th17/neutrophilic endotype.
A biomarker is a specific biological indicator of a disease's phenotype or endotype.
Biomarkers are measured in various biological specimens such as blood, sputum, nasal secretion, tears, saliva,
exhaled breath condensate, skin exudate, urine, biopsy, etc. Fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO), blood and sputum
eosinophilia, and serum total IgE are conventional biomarkers
in allergic asthma.
©V.V.Klimov
|
