Expression of CCL-18 and CX3CL1 in Serum, and Their Potential Roles as Two Diagnostic and Prognostic Markers in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Chronic cor Pulmonale (COPD&CCP): a Pilot Study.

BACKGROUND: CC chemokine ligand-18 (CCL-18) and CX3 chemokine ligand 1 (CX3CL1) are key factors of vascular and tissue injury in chronic respiratory diseases. Here, we investigated the value of CCL-18 and CX3CL1 in diagnosis and prognosis of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and chronic cor pulmonale (COPD&CCP). METHODS: First, we investigated the expression profile of CCL-18 and CX3CL1 in serum of COPD&CCP patients. Then the relationship of the level of CCL-18 and CX3CL1 with clinicopathological characteristics was analyzed. Subsequently, we evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of CCL-18 and CX3CL1 to discriminate COPD&CCP. The prognostic value and therapy outcome were also evaluated. RESULTS: Compared to healthy subjects, the level of CCL-18 (8.01 ± 2.01 ng/mL) and CX3CL1 (2,096.11 ± 306.09 ng/mL) was significantly increased in COPD&CCP patients (p < 0.05). The upregulation of CCL-18 and CX3CL1 was significantly correlated with clinicopathological characteristics including CRP, IL-6, FIB, NT-proBNP, FEV1, FEV1/FVC, PASP, LVEF, and T wave anomaly. The combination of CCL-18 and CX3CL1 showed high precision for discriminating COPD&CCP with high AUC values (0.828), sensitivity (66.1%), and specificity (92.5%). Furthermore, CCL-18 and CX3CL1 acted as independent factors which lead to poor clinical benefits and indicated poor prognosis of COPD&CCP patients. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, our results indicated that CCL-18 and CX3CL1 could act as suitable biomarkers in prognosis and prognostic evaluation of COPD&CCP.

Association of serum adiponectin level with cystatin C in male patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.

PURPOSE: Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) was suggested to exert an effect on renal function. However, the specific mechanism was still unknown. We try to find the association among OSAS, adiponectin, and cystatin C and the effect of adiponectin on renal function in OSAS patients. METHODS: Seventeen healthy men and seventy-three men which only had OSAS were included in the end. Apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), oxygen desaturation index (ODI), the percentage of total sleep time spent with SpO2 < 90% (T90%), lowest O2 saturation (LaSO2), Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) score, serum adiponectin, and high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP) were detected in all subjects, and renal function was evaluated with creatinine, cystatin C, and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). RESULTS: Demographic data, creatinine, and eGFR did not differ among the studied groups. Decreased serum adiponectin levels were associated with severe OSAS. OSAS patients had a higher hsCRP and cystatin C than those without OSAS. Serum adiponectin levels had a negative association with cystatin C. After adjusted for confounders, adiponectin, hsCRP, and ODI had a significant prediction on the cystatin C (ß = - 0.218, p = 0.011; ß = 0.226, p = 0.037; and ß = 0.231, p = 0.029). CONCLUSIONS: Decreased serum adiponectin was associated with increased cystatin C in male OSAS patients. These results suggest that serum adiponectin might be a regulatory factor for renal function in OSAS.