Basic Fibroblast Growth Factor and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Levels as Pulmonary Biomarkers of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

There has been increasing interest in using pulmonary biomarkers to understand and monitor the inflammation in the respiratory tract of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The aim of this study is evaluating circulating basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels to determine the value of these growth factors as biomarkers of COPD and as indicators of severity of COPD in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in comparison to the inflammatory cytokines, C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6). Also, to determine if there is a correlation between circulating levels of VEGF and bFGF and pulmonary function (FEV1). The study included 86 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Besides 20 healthy, age matched males with normal pulmonary function were included as controls. The patients were divided into 5 stages according to lung function measured by spirometer (FEV1 % predicted). All patients were subjected to determination of FEV1 and determination of circulating bFGF, VEGF, TNF-a, CRP and IL-6. The results showed that the concentration of circulating bFGF, VEGF, TNF-α, CRP and IL-6 were significantly higher in patients with COPD in comparison to the control group and their levels increased according to the stage of disease. There was a negative correlation between the blood levels of VEGF and bFGF with FEV1 in the different stages of COPD (p 0.05). Also, there was a strong positive correlation between VEGF and bFGF (p 0.05). In conclusion, bFGF and VEGF could play an important role in the pathogenesis of COPD and could be considered as a reliable and early biomarker in the diagnosis of COPD.