78: Elevated HSP27, HSP70 and HSP90α in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Markers for Immune Activation and Tissue Destruction. Hacker S, Lambers S, Hoetzenecker K, Pollreisz A, Aigner C, MangoldA,  Lichtenauer M, Taghavi S, Klepetko W, Ankersmit HJ. Clinical Laboratory (ahead of print) 2008 

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the leading causes of death. Although the underlying pathomechanism remains poorly understood, COPD is accompanied by increased cellular stress and inflammation. We investigated serum contents of heat shock proteins (HSP 27, 60, 70, 90alpha), 20S proteasomes and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in patients with mild or severe COPD and healthy smokers and non smokers. HSP27, HSP70 and HSP90α were significantly altered in patients suffering from COPD as compared to controls. A negative correlation was found between HSP27, 70 and lung function parameters. HSP27 and HSP70 are novel serum markers for the diagnosis of COPD in the smoking population. This is the first study to demonstrate elevated serum levels of the described heat shock proteins in patients with COPD. We showed sensitivity and specificity of serum HSP27 and HSP70 as potential diagnostic markers for COPD.

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