Lung biopsies from asthmatics pre- and post- steroid treatment and from healthy control

To better understand the therapeutic potential of targeting Th2 inflammation in asthma, we performed genome-wide expression profiling of endobronchial biopsies in asthmatics and healthy controls stratified according a previously defined three-gene Th2 signature in bronchial epithelium. The Th2 signature is defined as relatively high expression of POSTN, CLCA1, and SERPINB2. Endobronchial biopsies from 27 asthmatics and 13 healthy controls were assayed on expression microarrays. Biopsies were obtained from asthmatics before and one week after treatment with Flovent, an inhaled corticosteroid commonly used to treat asthma.