Interactions of neutrophil elastase, serum trypsin inhibitory activity, and smoking history as risk factors for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in patients with MM, MZ, and ZZ phenotypes for alpha-antitrypsin.

Abstract

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease of the MM, MZ, and ZZ (Pi) phenotypes for α1-antitrypsin differed from healthy control subjects of these same Pi types by having greater mean neutrophilic polymorphonuclear leukocyte, lysosomal elastase-like esterolytic activity, a greater (although within normal range) number of polymorphonuclear leukocytes, and a lifetime history of smoking a greater number of cigarettes. In both the control and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease groups, elastase-like esterolytic activity was unrelated to the number of leukocytes and polymorphonuclear neutrophilic leukocytes, the ratio of polymorphonuclear leukocytes to all leukocytes × 100, Pi type, serum trypsin inhibitory activity, smoking history, age, and sex, suggesting that the increased polymorphonuclear neutrophilic leukocyte lysosomal elastase-like esterolytic activity is an associated variable of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and not necessarily a result of the disease. Among the patients with ch...