Subjects
The U-BIOPRED cohort consisted of 3 groups: (i) severe asthma (SA)
including current and ex-smokers, (ii) mild/moderate non-smoking
asthmatics (MMA) and (iii) non-smoking healthy volunteers (HV). Clinical
data, such as age, sex, body mass index (BMI), smoking history, and oral
corticosteroid (OCS) use and comorbidities were collected, as previously
described (14). Demographic data of the 3 groups are shown inSupplementary Table S1 . Expression profiling was performed
using U133Plus 2.0 microarray (Affymetrix, Santa Clara, CA) on total RNA
extracted from sputum cells, brushings of the lower airways, and
bronchial biopsies. The transcriptomic data was assessed by multiarray
average normalization. Atopy was defined by at least 1 inhalant allergen
being positive on skin prick test or by high levels of serum allergen
specific IgE. Participants gave signed informed consent to participate
in the study, which was approved by the local Ethics Committees.