Variations of IL-5, IL-12, MMP-9 and TIMP-1 in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease accompanied by chronic pulmonary heart disease residing at different altitudes

Abstract

Objective To investigate the changes and implications of interleukin-5 (IL-5), IL-12, matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) accompanied by chronic pulmonary heart disease (CPHD). Methods A total of 30 patients with COPD associated with CPHD as well as 30 healthy controls, residing at a medium altitude of 2 260 m, were recruited in the present study.In addition, 22 patients with COPD associated with CPHD as well as 24 healthy controls, residing at a high altitude of 3 680 m were included in the study.The serum levels of IL-5, IL-12, MMP-9 and TIMP-1 were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results The serum levels of IL-5 of patients in the medium and high-altitude groups were lower than those of their corresponding controls (t=4.069, 4.530, both P 0.05). Conclusions The serum levels of IL-5, IL-12, MMP-9 and TIMP-1 were changed in patients with COPD accompanied by CPHD at medium and high-altitude regions, these alterations may be involved in airway inflammatory response and airway remodeling.We found some different expressions of inflammatory cytokine in different altitudes, and the reason was that high altitude anoxia exaggerated systemic inflammatory response of COPD. Key words: Medium and high altitude; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Chronic pulmonary heart disease; Interleukin-5; Interleukin-12; Matrix metalloproteinase-9; Tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1