MicroRNA clustering in pediatric asthma reveals differential corticosteroid responsiveness

BACKGROUND: Asthma is a heterogeneous disease with variable treatment responses. miRNAs play a critical role in asthma pathogenesis and may serve as biomarkers for distinct asthma endotypes. We tried to identify possible molecular asthma clusters based on miRNA expression profiles in pediatric patients from the Childhood Asthma Management Program (CAMP) cohort. METHODS: We performed miRNA profiling and k-means clustering on 462 CAMP participants. Differential miRNA expression and pathway enrichment analyses were conducted to characterize cluster-associated molecular features. Clinical characteristics and budesonide-related changes in lung function were compared across clusters, including analyses stratified by peripheral blood eosinophil counts. RESULTS: /FVC after budesonide. CONCLUSION: miRNA profiling identified possible molecular asthma clusters with different clinical, physiologic, and treatment-related patterns.