Expression of CCL-18 and CX3CL1 in Serum, and Their Potential Roles as Two Diagnostic and Prognostic Markers in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Chronic cor Pulmonale (COPD&CCP): a Pilot Study.

Background: CC chemokine ligand-18 (CCL-18) and CX3 chemokine ligand 1 (CX3CL1) are key factors of vascular and tissue injury in chronic respiratory diseases. Here, we investigated the value of CCL-18 and CX3CL1 in diagnosis and prognosis of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and chronic cor pulmonale (COPD&CCP).

Methods: First, we investigated the expression profile of CCL-18 and CX3CL1 in serum of COPD&CCP patients. Then the relationship of the level of CCL-18 and CX3CL1 with clinicopathological characteristics was analyzed. Subsequently, we evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of CCL-18 and CX3CL1 to discriminate COPD&CCP. The prognostic value and therapy outcome were also evaluated.

Results: Compared to healthy subjects, the level of CCL-18 (8.01 ± 2.01 ng/mL) and CX3CL1 (2,096.11 ± 306.09 ng/mL) was significantly increased in COPD&CCP patients (p < 0.05). The upregulation of CCL-18 and CX3CL1 was significantly correlated with clinicopathological characteristics including CRP, IL-6, FIB, NT-proBNP, FEV1, FEV1/FVC, PASP, LVEF, and T wave anomaly. The combination of CCL-18 and CX3CL1 showed high precision for discriminating COPD&CCP with high AUC values (0.828), sensitivity (66.1%), and specificity (92.5%). Furthermore, CCL-18 and CX3CL1 acted as independent factors which lead to poor clinical benefits and indicated poor prognosis of COPD&CCP patients.

Conclusions: Taken together, our results indicated that CCL-18 and CX3CL1 could act as suitable biomarkers in prognosis and prognostic evaluation of COPD&CCP.