Fei ZY, Wang J, Liang J, Zhou X, Guo M. Analysis of bacterial spectrum, activin A, and CD64 in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients complicated with pulmonary infections. World J Clin Cases 2022; 10(8): 2382-2392 [PMID: 35434072 DOI: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i8.2382]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Zhao-Yang Fei, MM, Associate Chief Physician, Experimental Research Centre, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, No. 1 Xueyuan Road, Yuzhong District, Chongqing 400010, China. feizhaoyangwy@163.com
Research Domain of This Article
Respiratory System
Article-Type of This Article
Case Control Study
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Clin Cases. Mar 16, 2022; 10(8): 2382-2392 Published online Mar 16, 2022. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i8.2382
Analysis of bacterial spectrum, activin A, and CD64 in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients complicated with pulmonary infections
Zhao-Yang Fei, Jiang Wang, Jie Liang, Xue Zhou, Min Guo
Zhao-Yang Fei, Jiang Wang, Jie Liang, Xue Zhou, Experimental Research Centre, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400010, China
Min Guo, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Lianyungang Second People's Hospital, Lianyungang 222006, Jiangsu Province, China
Author contributions: Fei ZY and Guo M designed the study, wrote the paper and reviewed the manuscripts; Fei ZY and Guo M should be as the co-corresponding authors; Fei ZY and Wang J performed the research and collected data; Liang J and Zhou X contributed to the analysis and editing of the manuscript; all authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University.
Informed consent statement: The data were not involved in the patients’ privacy information, so the informed consent was waived by the Ethics Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE statement-checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE statement- checklist of items.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Zhao-Yang Fei, MM, Associate Chief Physician, Experimental Research Centre, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, No. 1 Xueyuan Road, Yuzhong District, Chongqing 400010, China. feizhaoyangwy@163.com
Received: October 11, 2021 Peer-review started: October 11, 2021 First decision: November 11, 2021 Revised: November 27, 2021 Accepted: January 29, 2022 Article in press: January 29, 2022 Published online: March 16, 2022
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background
A sharp exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is often triggered by a lung infection and often has a poor prognosis.
Research motivation
Since COPD induces complex inflammatory events, Activin A and CD64 may collectively contribute to the development and progression of this disorder.
Research objectives
To analyze the bacterial profile of COPD patients with pulmonary infections and to assess activin A levels, CD64 index, and the underlying mechanisms involved in disease development.
Research methods
The whole data set consisted of 85 COPD patients with pulmonary infection and 96 COPD patients without pulmonary infection. Sputum samples were obtained from patients with pulmonary infections for further bacterial culture. The levels of CD64 index, activin A, Smad3, TLR4, MyD88, and NFκB proteins were assessed and compared between 85 COPD patients with pulmonary infections and 96 COPD patients without pulmonary infections.
Research results
In the pulmonary infection group sputum samples, the Gram-negative bacteria, Gram-positive bacteria, and Fungi were 57.65%, 41.18%, and 1.17%, respectively. In addition, the relative CD64 index, and levels of activin A, Smad3, TLR4, MyD88, and NFκB proteins were all significantly higher in the pulmonary infection group, compared to the control group (all P < 0.001).
Research conclusions
Pulmonary infections in COPD patients may be caused by a variety of pathogens. In COPD patients, the CD64 index and serum activin A levels were significantly increased in patients with lung infection, compared to those without. This may have a positive regulatory effect on the downstream activin A/Smad3 and TLR4/MyD88/NFκB signaling pathways.
Research perspectives
Together, our findings provide a novel mechanism underlying pulmonary infection in COPD patients, and offer a potential therapeutic target for an enhanced and effective therapy against COPD.
