Evaluation of gene expression, methylation and secretory levels of inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines in PBMCs of patients with severe and mild chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with healthy controls

Abstract

COPD is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States after cardiovascular disease, cancer, and cerebrovascular disease, and by 2030, COPD will become the third leading cause of death worldwide, and its prevalence continues to increase in developing countries. . Knowing the risk factors is an important issue for the prevention and treatment of this disease. Lymphocytes and cytokines produced by immune system cells and tissues play an important role in the pathophysiology of COPD. The expression of pro-inflammatory and inflammatory genes is regulated by DNA methylation and then causes or prevents the occurrence of COPD. Methods and Materials: In this study, 8 ml of blood samples were randomly collected from 30 patients with severe and mild COPD referred to Imam Reza Hospital (AS) in Tabriz and 30 healthy individuals as a control group. In the following, the level of gene expression, methylation and secretory level of inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines in PBMCs of people with severe and mild chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and healthy controls were investigated. The obtained results were analyzed with appropriate statistical tests. Findings: The expression of all genes and the secretory level of cytokines IL-1, IL-18, IFN-γ, TNF-α in patients with COPD has increased significantly compared to control subjects, and this increase in gene expression and secretory level in Patients with severe COPD were far more. (p < 0.05). On the other hand, gene expression and secretory levels of anti-inflammatory cytokines including IL-10 and TGF-β in patients with COPD have significantly decreased compared to control subjects, and this decrease in gene expression is much higher in patients with severe COPD. (p < 0.05). The promoter methylation percentage of all inflammatory and pro-inflammatory cytokine genes in patients with COPD has significantly decreased compared to control subjects, and the promoter methylation percentage of anti-inflammatory cytokine genes including in COPD patients has significantly increased compared to control subjects.