Abstract
Background: During chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations (AE-COPD), an influx of eosinophils into the bronchial mucosa has been described. Eosinophilic cationic protein (ECP) and soluble interleukin-5 receptor α (sIL5Rα) are secreted by eosinophils and increased in eosinophilic airway diseases. Methods: We studied ECP and sIL5Rα expression in patients with COPD compared to healthy controls and smokers and investigated a possible association to viral exacerbations of COPD. Expression of sIL5Rα in serum was analyzed by ELISA and ECP by the Uni-Cap system. Induced sputum from patients with COPD was analyzed for six different respiratory viruses by nested PCR. Results: ECP and sIL5Rα were significantly elevated in AE-COPD subjects (n = 54) compared to healthy controls (n = 11, p = 0.018). Furthermore, there was a significant increase in sIL5Rα, but not in ECP, in 30 patients with virus-associated AE-COPD compared to smokers without COPD (n = 16) and healthy controls. The increase in FEV<sub>1</sub> after resolution of the AE-COPD correlated with the decrease in sIL5Rα (r = 0.269, p = 0.034). Conclusions: sIL5Rα is increased in AE-COPD and not affected by smoking like ECP. sIL5Rα is increased in patients with virus-associated AE-COPD compared to smokers and controls. Concentrations of sIL5Rα mirror changes in the clinical status and lung function. These data support the involvement of eosinophils in acute exacerbations of COPD.
Published Version
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