The role of serum soluble urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor in stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) results from an abnormal inflammatory response of the lungs to noxious particles or gases. Serum soluble urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) is a glycoprotein secreted during infections and inflammation. The main goal of this study was to evaluate the serum suPAR level in stable COPD patients compared with a control group. Forty-six stable COPD patients and 41 control subjects were included in the study. Blood samples were collected from 46 stable COPD patients (40 men, 6 women; mean [SD] age, 55.92 [7.91] years; the forced expiratory volume in 1 second, 45.32% [19.1%] of predicted). Forty-one healthy subjects were selected as control subjects and were matched to COPD patients with respect to age and body mass index. Serum suPAR and plasma fibrinogen levels were measured in stable COPD patients and control subjects. Serum suPAR levels of the COPD patients were significantly higher than those of the control subjects (4.94 [2.79] and 2.40 [2.01] ng/mL, respectively; P < 0.001). Plasma fibrinogen levels of the COPD patients were significantly higher than those of the control subjects (406.77 [172.6] and 336.53 [96.1] g/L, respectively; P < 0.05). Our study indicated that serum suPAR may play an important role in the inflammatory process of COPD, and this increase may be particularly large for patients in Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease stages III and IV. Serum suPAR and plasma fibrinogen level measurements may be useful for the evaluation of stable COPD.