ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is characterized by chronic inflammatory response both at the lung site and at the systemic level. Abnormalities in circulating leukocytes have been reported to occur in COPD patients and have been often shown to correlate with the decline in lung function. COPD affects men and women at a virtually comparable rate, even though distinct sex specific symptoms, progression and therapeutic implications have been described. Nonetheless, these sex-associated differences have not been analyzed in terms of circulating leukocytes. To assess the impact of sex on the changes of circulating immune cells in COPD patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Blood samples were collected from 50 COPD patients (31 males, 19 females) and 63 age and sex-matched controls (35 males, 28 females) enrolled in this pilot study. Complete blood cell count and multi-parametric flow cytometry analysis were performed to characterize the leukocyte populations and subsets. RESULTS: Male COPD patients are distinguished from controls by a significant increase in white blood cell counts, neutrophil total and differential counts, and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio. Conversely, a generalized leukocyte decrease discriminated female COPD patients from the related controls. The impact of sex is further remarked by a decrease in adaptive immune cell subpopulations in males as opposed to a consistent increase of innate immune cell types in females correlating with disease severity. CONCLUSION: These data indicate that the definition of specific changes of circulating leukocytes to be used as reliable biomarkers of the disease severity cannot be accomplished irrespectively of sex.
Subject(s)
Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive , Female , Humans , Leukocyte Count , Leukocytes , Lung , Male , Pilot ProjectsSubject(s)
Antigen-Antibody Complex/blood , Immunoassay/methods , Troponin T/blood , Acute Coronary Syndrome/blood , Acute Coronary Syndrome/diagnosis , Adult , Artifacts , Biomarkers/blood , Female , Gastritis/blood , Gastritis/diagnosis , Gastritis/drug therapy , Humans , Proton Pump Inhibitors/therapeutic use , Sensitivity and SpecificityABSTRACT
Acromegalic patients, characterized by excessive secretion of GH and IGF-1, show a high fracture risk but bone mineral density is a poor predictor for bone fractures in these patients. The effects of an excess of GH/IGF1 on skeleton as well as on osteogenic progenitors, i.e. mesenchymal stem cells, have not been investigated in these patients. We aimed to elucidate the skeletal conditions of acromegalic patients by means of bone microarchitecture analysis and evaluation of MSCs osteogenic commitment. In particular, we performed histomorphometric analyses, and we quantified the expression levels of the osteogenic transcription factor RUNX2 in circulating MSCs. Our results showed an abnormal microarchitecture and demonstrated that bone impairment in acromegalic patients is associated with the upregulation of RUNX2 expression. Furthermore, osteoblastic activity was significantly reduced in patients under pharmacological treatment, compared to untreated patients. In conclusion, this study demonstrates the key role of RUNX2 gene overexpression in causing bone impairment in acromegalic patients. It also suggests a therapeutic approach for the improvement of bone quality, focused on the osteoblastic lineage rather than the inhibition of osteoclastic activity.