Relationship between the Change of IL-8 and MMP-9 Levels in the Sputum/Serum and the Pulmonary Function in Patients with Acute Exacerbations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease before and after Treatment

［Abstract］Objective　To compare the difference of IL-8 and MMP-9 levels in the serum and sputum before and after treatment in patients with acute exacerbations of COPD， and to analyze the correlation between IL-8 and MMP-9 levels and lung function. Method　A total of 20 cases of AECOPD patients were randomly selected in the observation group and 15 cases of healthy people were selected in the control group. Pulmonary function was measured and the specimens of sputum and blood were collected during the admission and discharge for AECOPD patients. FEV1 and FEV1/FVC% were recorded，and the concentration of IL-8 and MMP-9 in the sputum supernatant and serum were tested with double antibody sandwich enzyme linked immunosorbent assay before and after treatment. All the data and correlation were analyzed with t test and SPSS software. Results（1）Before the treatment，serum IL-8 concentration in COPD patients was 28.30±14.39 pg/mL， higher than that in the control group［17.46±3.48）pg/mL，P＝0.008］. After treatment， the serum IL-8 concentration was significantly decreased ［（13.30±6.31）pg/mL，P＝0.000］. IL-8 concentration of sputum significantly decreased after treatment［（501.60± 508.61）pg/mL，P＝0.042］than one before treatment（639.40±703.12）pg/mL. （2） Before treatment， serum MMP-9 concentration in patients with AECOPD was 1.12 ±0.36 ng/mL， lower than control group［（17.89±11.00）ng/mL，P＝0.000）］. After treatment， the serum MMP-9 concentration was significantly decreased［（0.87±0.31）ng/mL，P＝0.000］. MMP-9 concentration of sputum before treatment（12.04±12.22）ng/mL decreased significantly after treatment ［（8.02±7.13）ng/mL，P＝0.005］.（3）Before treatment， no correlation was seen between the concentration of serum IL-8 and FEV1， FEV1/FVC. Negative correlation was observed between the sputum IL-8 concentration and FEV1/FVC and no correlation was found with FEV1. After treatment，we found that no correlation showed between the concentration of IL-8 and FEV1， FEV1/FVC， and negative correlation was seen between the IL-8 concentration in sputum and FEV1， FEV1/FVC. （4）Before treatment，no correlation between the concentration of serum MMP-9 and FEV1， FEV1/FVC was observed and no correlation between the sputum MMP-9 concentration with FEV1 was seen. Negatively correlation was found between the sputum MMP-9 level wtih FEV1/FVC. After treatment， we observed no correlation between the serum concentration of MMP-9 and FEV1， FEV1/FVC， and negative correlation between the concentration of MMP-9 in sputum and FEV1，FEV1/FVC. Conclusion　The concentration of IL-8 and MMP-9 in serum and sputum in patients with acute exacerbation of COPD is higher than those in the stable phase. IL-8 and MMP-9 levels in serum show no correlation with lung function. Negative correlation was observed between IL-8 and MMP-9 levels in sputum and lung function. We can test the levels of IL-8 and MMP-9 in sputum to evaluate the severity of the disease.