Complement components C3 and C4 levels in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) patients and their correlation with severity of airflow obstruction

Authors : Chirag K Pandya, Hariom M Sharma, Keyur H Madhu, Hari S Sharma, Tejas J Shah

DOI : 10.18231/j.ijcbr.2019.101

Volume : 6

Issue : 4

Year : 2019

Page No : 485-489

Introduction: Although a great deal is known about etiopathogenesis of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary
Disease (COPD), there are still substantial lacunae in comprehending the role of immunity in the part
played by recurrent secondary infections occurring in patients with COPD who have been shown to present
decreased serum levels of complement components C3 and C4 than healthy subjects.
Objectives: Measure and compare the levels of complement C3 and C4 in COPD patients with healthy
controls and also correlate their levels with severity of COPD.
Materials and Methods: This was a prospective case control study conducted at GMC, Bhavnagar with
75 known cases of COPD patients and 75 controls. Cases were subdivided into three subgroups with
Pulmonary Function Test scores. Biochemical investigations from venous blood samples were performed
on Mispa i2 specific protein analyzers. Data analysis was done by using unpaired t-test, one-way ANOVA
test and post hoc test.
Results: In the present study the levels of complement C3 (Case: 142.2347.23, control: 160.4837.77
and p<0> decreased in COPD patients in comparison to healthy subjects. In addition to that C4 levels were
significantly decreased in between mild to moderate and mild to severe obstructive COPD cases
(p<0> statistically significant (p>0.05).
Conclusion: It is suggested from this study that measurement of complement levels may be used to asses
severity of obstruction in COPD patients with more emphasis given to C4 levels.

Keywords:  COPD, C3, C4, Complement activation, PFT.


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