Dynamic gene expressions of peripheral blood mononuclear cells in patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a preliminary study.

Introduction: Acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) is a serious event that is responsible for the progress of the disease, increases in medical costs and high mortality.

Methods: The aim of the present study was to identify AECOPD-specific biomarkers by evaluating the dynamic gene expression profiling of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from patients with AECOPD on days 1, 3 and 10 after hospital admission and to compare the derived data with data from healthy controls or patients with stable COPD.

Results: We found that 14 genes were co-differentially upregulated and 2 downregulated greater than 10-fold in patients with COPD or AECOPD compared with the healthy individuals.