The Role of Bactericidal/Permeability-Increasing Protein in Men with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

AbstractBackground and objective: Bactericidal/permeability-increasing protein (BPI) is a member of the pattern recognition receptors of the innate immune system. Recently, an association between genetic polymorphism in the BPI gene and a risk of airflow decline after transplantation was demonstrated, but whether these findings are reproducible in nontransplantation populations, such as those with COPD, is still unknown. The aim of this study is to explore the role of BPI in COPD. Methods: The genotypes of 107 patients with COPD and 110 control subjects were evaluated by polymerase chain reaction and polymorphism analysis of the BPI genes and ELISA analysis of the plasma BPI level. All subjects were men over 40 years old who smoked. Results: BPI mutation PstI (T→C) polymorphism in intron 5 was associated with an increased risk of developing COPD (OR 3.73, 95%CI: 1.62–9.10), and the frequency was significantly increased in the COPD group compared with the control group (26/107 [24.3%] vs 12/110 [10.9%], p ...