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Cigarette Smoke Induces Activation of Polymorphonuclear Leukocytes

  • COPD
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Abstract

Introduction

Cigarette smoking is a major risk factor for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Exposure to cigarette smoke may stimulate inflammatory response and activate polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) thus resulting in secretion of cellular proteases. The aim of our study was to explore the effect of cigarette smoke extract (CSE) on the release of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) from PMN.

Methods

The study included 23 patients with stable COPD and 9 healthy controls. PMN were isolated from blood of all participants and exposed to 4% CSE or basal culture medium (0% CSE) for 20 h. MMP-9 concentration in PMN culture media was measured using the ELISA method.

Results

Exposure of PMN to 4% CSE did not cause cytotoxic effects, as determined by no changes in lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity in PMN culture media when compared to untreated PMN (P = 0.689). In basal conditions, PMN of COPD patients released significantly more MMP-9 compared with PMN of healthy controls (P = 0.016). However, concentration ratio of MMP-9 released from PMN exposed to 4% CSE or 0% CSE of each participant was significantly higher for healthy subjects than for COPD patients (P = 0.025).

Conclusion

Cigarette smoke induces activation of PMN in healthy controls. However, chronically activated PMN in COPD patients could not be further stimulated by in vitro exposure to CSE. Constantly raised amount of MMP-9 released into the tissues may be involved in the degradation of extracellular matrix in the lungs as seen in COPD patients.

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Abbreviations

COPD:

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

CSE:

Cigarette smoke extract

FEV1 :

Forced expiratory volume in 1 second

FVC:

Forced vital capacity

GOLD:

Global initiative for chronic obstructive lung disease

IL:

Interleukin

LDH:

Lactate dehydrogenase

MMP:

Matrix metalloproteinase

PMN:

Polymorphonuclear leukocytes

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Acknowledgements

This work was financed by the Croatian Ministry of Science, Education and Sports (Grant No. 006-0061245-0977).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Biochemistry and Hematology, Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, University of Zagreb, Kneza Domagoja 2, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia

    Anita Somborac-Bačura & Tihana Žanić-Grubišić

  2. Clinical Hospital for Lung Diseases “Jordanovac”, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Jordanovac 104, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia

    Sanja Popović-Grle & Vlasta Zovko

  3. School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Šalata 3, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia

    Sanja Popović-Grle

Authors
  1. Anita Somborac-Bačura
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  2. Sanja Popović-Grle
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  3. Vlasta Zovko
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  4. Tihana Žanić-Grubišić
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Correspondence to Anita Somborac-Bačura.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Somborac-Bačura, A., Popović-Grle, S., Zovko, V. et al. Cigarette Smoke Induces Activation of Polymorphonuclear Leukocytes. Lung 196, 27–31 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00408-017-0077-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00408-017-0077-3

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