Preliminary studies: differences in microRNA expression in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

INTRODUCTION: The asthma- and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)-related morbidity has been increasing during the recent years. Both asthma and COPD are diseases of inflammatory etiology. The increasing interest in the pathomechanisms involved in the development of obstructive pulmonary diseases seems to be fully justified. Recent research has attempted to determine the associations of microRNA with the pathogenesis of pulmonary diseases. AIM: To assess the expression of microRNA in the blood sera of patients diagnosed with bronchial asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in comparison with healthy subjects. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In our study, at the preliminary stage, we compared the expression of miRNA in the groups of patients with asthma and COPD versus the control group of healthy subjects. RESULTS: A significant difference in hsa-miRNA-224, hsa-miRNA-339-5p, hsa-miRNA-382 in patients with asthma and COPD as compared with the controls was noted. CONCLUSIONS: With such difference of expression of specific micro-RNA in serum of patient with asthma and COPD, those small non-coding RNA has to play a significant role in those diseases pathway. Therefore we expect to increase the size and differentation of the study groups in next studies.

Oxidative stress and damage to erythrocytes in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease--changes in ATPase and acetylcholinesterase activity.

The study indicates, for the first time, the changes in both ATPase and AChE activities in the membrane of red blood cells of patients diagnosed with COPD. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the most common and severe lung disorders. We examined the impact of COPD on redox balance and properties of the membrane of red blood cells. The study involved 30 patients with COPD and 18 healthy subjects. An increase in lipid peroxidation products and a decrease in the content of -SH groups in the membrane of red blood cells in patients with COPD were observed. Moreover, an increase in the activity of glutathione peroxidase and a decrease in superoxide dismutase, but not in catalase activity, were found as well. Significant changes in activities of erythrocyte membrane enzymes in COPD patients were also evident demonstrated by a considerably lowered ATPase activity and elevated AChE activity. Changes in the structure and function of red blood cells observed in COPD patients, together with changes in the activity of the key membrane enzymes (ATPases and AChE), can result from the imbalance of redox status of these cells due to extensive oxidative stress induced by COPD disease.

Decreased activity of butyrylcholinesterase in blood plasma of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

INTRODUCTION: Butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) is involved in the metabolism of endogenous lipids and xenobiotics, such as esters of carboxylic or phosphoric acids. Butyrylcholinesterase activity is associated with both inflammation and oxidative stress. Changes in the activity of this enzyme have been observed in various diseases such as liver cirrhosis, diabetes, neurodegenerative disease and others. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study involved 30 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and 18 healthy subjects. The COPD patients were divided according to the severity of the disease by applying the classification of COPD based on GOLD standards for forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) and the FEV1/forced expiratory volume (FVC) ratio. The control group comprised blood samples collected from healthy subjects without concomitant diseases related to the respiratory system. Butyrylcholinesterase activity, lipid peroxidation and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) were determined in the blood plasma. RESULTS: A significant (p < 0.05) decrease in the activity of BChE, associated with an increase in lipid peroxidation and a decrease in the total antioxidant capacity, was observed in blood plasma of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. CONCLUSIONS: The study shows for the first time that activity of BChE in the blood plasma of patients diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is considerably reduced compared with healthy subjects. These changes were accompanied by a decrease of TAC and an increase of lipid peroxidation, which suggests that they may be related to the oxidative stress induced by COPD disease.