SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Allergy
Sec. Asthma
This article is part of the Research TopicThe Role of Epithelial-Derived Cytokines in Airway DiseaseView all 5 articles
Thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) expression in different biologic specimens in asthma. A systematic review and meta-analysis
Provisionally accepted
- Department of Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Diseases and Allergy, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
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Abstract Background Thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) is an epithelial-derived cytokine implicated in the pathogenesis of asthma. However, its expression across different biologic specimens and its clinical correlates remains unclear. The objective of this study was to summarize available data on TSLP concentrations in blood and airway specimens in asthmatic patients. Methods Studies reporting TSLP concentrations in blood and/or airway specimens (e.g. bronchial biopsy, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALf), induced sputum, exhaled breath condensate (EBC), nasal specimens) of asthmatic patients compared to healthy controls were eligible. PubMed, Web of Science, Embase and Cochrane Library were searched from inception to October 2024. A total of 40 studies were included for qualitative synthesis and 5 were eligible for meta-analysis. Differences in TSLP levels of asthmatic patients and controls were summarized by standardized mean differences (SMD) using a random effects model. Results Based on meta-analysis blood TSLP concentration was significantly higher in patients with asthma than in controls (SMD=3.66 95% CI 1.63-5.69, I2=98,26 %). The sensitivity analysis showed that no individual study influenced the pooled effect estimate. Based on systematic review, all studies analysing bronchial biopsies and BALf reported significantly higher TSLP concentration in asthmatics compared to controls, whereas results in induced sputum, EBC and nasal specimens were variable. Conclusions Most studies reported higher blood TSLP concentration in asthma patients compared to healthy controls, while results in airway specimens were diverse. Higher concentration of TSLP in asthmatic patients might be a useful disease-related marker.
Keywords: TSLP, thymic stromal lymphopoeitin, Asthma, systematic review, Meta-analysis
Received: 12 Sep 2025; Accepted: 30 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Orzolek, Kowalczyk, Rybka-Frączek, Storman and Dąbrowska. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Marta Dąbrowska, marta.dabrowska1@wum.edu.pl
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