RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Increased circulating endothelial microparticles in COPD patients: a potential biomarker for COPD exacerbation susceptibility
JF Thorax
JO Thorax
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and British Thoracic Society
SP 1067
OP 1074
DO 10.1136/thoraxjnl-2011-201395
VO 67
IS 12
A1 Toru Takahashi
A1 Seiichi Kobayashi
A1 Naoya Fujino
A1 Takaya Suzuki
A1 Chiharu Ota
A1 Mei He
A1 Mitsuhiro Yamada
A1 Satoshi Suzuki
A1 Masaru Yanai
A1 Shin Kurosawa
A1 Mutsuo Yamaya
A1 Hiroshi Kubo
YR 2012
UL http://thorax.bmj.com/content/67/12/1067.abstract
AB Rationale The influence of COPD exacerbation on the endothelium is not completely understood. Circulating endothelial microparticles (EMPs) are membrane vesicles in circulating blood that are shed by activated or apoptotic endothelial cells. Objective To compare EMP numbers in stable COPD patients with those during and after exacerbation. Methods We examined the EMP numbers in 80 stable COPD patients, 27 patients with exacerbated COPD, and 20 healthy non-COPD volunteers. EMPs were defined as CD144+ MPs (VE-cadherin EMPs), CD31+/CD41− MPs (PECAM EMPs), CD146 MPs (MCAM EMPs) and CD62E+ EMPs (E-selectin EMPs) as analysed by FACS. Von Willebrand factor (vWF) expression was utilised to identify the origins of the EMPs. Results VE-cadherin, PECAM and E-selectin EMP numbers were significantly higher in the stable COPD patients than in the non-COPD volunteers, and they were significantly higher in the patients with exacerbated COPD than in the stable COPD patients. The majority of these increased EMPs were vWF-negative, indicating a pulmonary capillary origin. Baseline E-selectin EMP levels were significantly higher in COPD patients who experienced frequent exacerbations than in those who did not have frequent exacerbations (p<0.001). Twenty-eight days after the onset of exacerbation, E-selectin EMP levels returned to those observed in stable COPD patients, whereas PECAM EMP levels remained high. MCAM EMP numbers were not elevated in stable or exacerbated-COPD patients. Conclusions Endothelial damage, mainly in pulmonary capillaries, occurs during exacerbation and continues even after clinical symptoms disappear. Higher baseline E-selectin EMP levels may indicate COPD patients who are susceptible to exacerbation.