The Differences of Eosinophil- and Neutrophil-Related Inflammation in Elderly Allergic and Non-Allergic Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Abstract

Background. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common disease in the elderly population and is characterized by airway inflammation. Whether it is a progressive condition resulting from allergic inflammation or a distinct condition involving a pathogen-induced reaction remains unclear. Objectives. To determine the role of allergic inflammation in the pathogenesis of elderly COPD. Methods. A total of 63 elderly adults (21 mite-allergic COPD patients, 29 non-allergic COPD patients, and 13 normal controls) were recruited in this study. The serum-specific IgE for mites, level of interleukin-5 (IL-5), IL-8, leptin, adiponectin, regulated upon activation normal T cell expressed and secreted (RANTES), growth-related oncogene-alpha (GRO-alpha), vitamin E, and glutathione (GSH) were determined. Results. The serum levels of GRO-alpha in patients with COPD were higher in comparison to normal controls (105.8 +/- 32.7 vs. 7.5 +/- 7.5 pg/mL, p = .021). Compared to patients with non-allergic COPD, patients with mite allergies had a higher serum level of IL-8 (63.2 +/- 12.6 vs. 35.0 +/- 8.2 pg/mL, p = .022). Although both IL-5 and RANTES levels were increased in COPD patients, there were no significant differences between allergic and non-allergic COPD. There were also no differences in serum levels of leptin, adiponectin, vitamin E, and GSH between COPD patients and normal controls. Conclusions. The increased serum levels of GRO-alpha indicate that it may have potential as a candidate biomarker for elderly COPD patients. There was no difference of eosinophils-related chemokines in allergic and non-allergic COPD. These results indicated that both adipokines and eosinophil-related chemokines only play trivial roles in the pathogenesis of COPD.