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IntroductionChronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an inflammatory disorder of the airways. An important element of COPD assessment is the evaluation of immune mechanisms involved in non-specific and specific response to ongoing inflammation.Aim of the studyTo evaluate the level of selected inflammatory and immunological parameters in patients with COPD, including C-reactive protein (CRP) and circulating immune complexes (CIC), as well as CRP/CIC index.Material and methodsThe study group consisted of 49 patients with obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD, asthma, and asthma-COPD overlap syndrome) hospitalised in the Department of Pulmonary Diseases, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Pulmonology Centre in Bydgoszcz. Patients with COPD were divided into two subgroups, taking into account the severity of the disease according to the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD; stages B and D). The control group consisted of 30 healthy persons. Levels of CIC were determined by the method of Hasková, and the concentration of CRP in serum by the standard immunoturbidimetric method.ResultsThe median values of examined parameters (neutrophils, lymphocytes, platelets, neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio – NLR, platelet/lymphocyte ratio – PLR, CRP, CIC, and CRP/CIC index) were significantly higher among patients with obstructive diseases than in the control group. A tendency towards higher lymphocyte count, CRP, and CRP/CIC index in COPD stage D, compared to stage B, was observed.ConclusionsBased on our results, we suggest that the role of non-specific inflammatory mechanisms may increase in more advanced COPD stages (D), compared to less advanced stages (B).

Myeloperoxidase substantially facilitates the early diagnosis of ACS.

Oxidative stress induced by neutrophils and hypoxia in COVID-19 pneumonia leads to albumin modification. This may result in elevated levels of advanced oxidation protein products (AOPPs) and advanced lipoxidation end-products (ALEs) that trigger oxidative bursts of neutrophils and thus participate in cytokine storms, accelerating endothelial lung cell injury, leading to respiratory distress. In this study, sixty-six hospitalized COVID-19 patients with respiratory symptoms were studied. AOPPs-HSA was produced in vitro by treating human serum albumin (HSA) with chloramine T. The interaction of malondialdehyde with HSA was studied using time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. The findings revealed a significantly elevated level of AOPPs in COVID-19 pneumonia patients on admission to the hospital and one week later as long as they were in the acute phase of infection when compared with values recorded for the same patients 6- and 12-months post-infection. Significant negative correlations of albumin and positive correlations of AOPPs with, e.g., procalcitonin, D-dimers, lactate dehydrogenase, aspartate transaminase, and radiological scores of computed tomography (HRCT), were observed. The AOPPs/albumin ratio was found to be strongly correlated with D-dimers. We suggest that oxidized albumin could be involved in COVID-19 pathophysiology. Some possible clinical consequences of the modification of albumin are also discussed.