Viral infection in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

    JIN Changª²Jun, LIN Dianª²Jie, XIN Hongª²Tao, YANG Zhaoª²Hui, CHEN Yuª²Juan

    Department of Respiratory Medicine, Shandong Provincial Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan 250021, China

    ¡¾Abstract¡¿ AIM: To study the relationship between viral infection and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and the role of viral infection in the pathogenesis of COPD. METHODS: Serum samples from 86 patients with acute exacerbation of COPD (Group A) and 32 patients with stable COPD (Group B) were tested for the specific IgG and IgM of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), adenovirus (Adv), Coxsackievirus (Cox) and Cytomegalovirus (CMV) by Biochip techniqueª²indirect immunofluorescence test. T lymphocyte subsets (CD3, CD4, CD8) were studied by Alkaline phosphatase antiª²alkaline phosphatase (APAAP). RESULTS: ¢Ù The positive rates of IgM were not different(P>0.05) in group A ( 12%, 7%, 3%, 5% for RSV, Adv, Cox and CMV) as compared to those in group B(0%, 0%, 0%, 0%). There was no significant difference in the positive rate of IgG between group A(45%, 26%, 20%, 28%) and group B (41%, 22%, 16%, 22%, P>0.05). ¢Ú In group A, the expression of CD3, CD4 and CD8 was significantly lower than those in group B(P<0.01). In group A , the expression of CD3 and CD4 in viral antibody positive groups was significantly lower than that in viral antibody negative groups(P<0.01), but the expression of CD8 was not significantly different (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: Viral infection is common in acute exacerbation of COPD and is related to the pathogenic mechanism of COPD. ......