Circulating cell adhesion molecules in bronchial lavage and serum in COPD patients with chronic bronchitis

The initial phase of inflammation in bronchial asthma appears to be triggered by the expression of leucocyte-endothelial adhesion molecules on endothelial cell surfaces. Cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) cause adhesion of leucocytes to the endothelium prior to their subsequent extravasation into inflamed tissue. We wanted to determine whether circulating intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (cICAM-1) and circulating E-selectin (cE-selectin) could be detected in bronchial lavage fluid and serum in patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and chronic bronchitis. Bronchoscopy and small volume bronchial lavage was performed in 19 patients with COPD and chronic bronchitis and in 13 control subjects. We found increased mean levels of cICAM-1 both in serum (481 micrograms.l-1) and in bronchial lavage (24 micrograms.l-1) in the COPD patients as compared to the controls (321 micrograms.l-1 in serum, 15 micrograms.l-1 in lavage). We also found higher mean levels of cE-selectin in serum from the COPD patients (86 micrograms.l-1) compared to controls (50 micrograms.l-1). The serum levels of cE-selectin correlated significantly with lung function measured as forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) in percentage of predicted. Patients with significant intrabronchial bacterial colonization had increased levels of serum cE-selectin. Our results indicate that cCAMs may reflect an upregulation of CAMs on endothelial and epithelial airway cells in COPD.