Oxidized Alpha-1-Antitrypsin as a Potential Biomarker Associated with Onset and Severity of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in Adult Population

AbstractOxidative stress could reduce inhibitor activity of the alpha-1-antitrypsin (A1AT). Oxidative-modified A1AT (oxidized alpha-1-antitrypsin, OxyA1AT) significantly loses ability to protect the lungs from neutrophil elastase. We aimed to investigate OxyA1AT as a potential biomarker associated with onset and severity of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in adult population. The study included 65 patients with COPD (33 smokers and 32 no-smokers) and 46 healthy participants (17 smokers and 29 no-smokers). Determination of OxyA1AT in serum was based on the difference between the inhibitory activities of normal and oxidized A1AT against trypsin and elastase. The level of OxyA1AT was significantly increased in the group of COPD smokers compared to healthy no-smokers (p = 0.030) and COPD no-smokers (p = 0.009). The highest level of OxyA1AT was found in group of smokers with severe and very severe COPD in comparison to the following: no-smokers with the same stage of disease (p = 0.038), smokers w...