Results of the RT-QPCR study
| Healthy smokers(n = 7) | COPD patients(n = 24) | p Value (Mann– Whitney test) | |
| Absolute mRNA levels | |||
| CCL5 | 19.77 (1.2) | 24.32 (2.6) | <0.001 |
| CXCL7 | 16.95 (1.9) | 21.77 (1.8) | 0.001 |
| CXCL8 | 18.27 (1.5) | 19.07 (1.6) | 0.88 |
| Relative mRNA levels | |||
| CCL5 | 0.95 (0.1) | 1.34 (0.2) | <0.001 |
| CXCL7 | 0.79 (0.01) | 0.96 (0.14) | 0.001 |
| CXCL8 | 0.88 (0.06) | 0.91 (0.08) | 0.94 |
Data are shown as mean (SEM).
The non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparisons between patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and healthy smokers.
mRNA extraction and RT-QPCR analysis was performed using one cryostat section (30 μm thick) of one bronchial biopsy from each of the patients with COPD and control healthy smokers studied. For absolute levels, expressed as 45−ΔCt, higher values indicate higher mRNA levels. Relative levels of mRNAs expressed as the ratio of the gene of interest Ct/housekeeping Ct (guanine nucleotide binding protein (G protein) − GNB2L).