Role of Hypoxia Inducible Factor-1α, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor and Total Antioxidant Capacity in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Objectives: To estimate the serumlevels of hypoxia inducible factor (HIF)-1α, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in chronic obstructive pulmonarydisease (COPD) and to assess the correlation of theseindices with COPD severity. Subjects and Methods: This case control study was carried out on 116 COPD male patients and 44 controls. Patients were classified into 4 groups according to the severity based on GOLD classification. Chest X-ray, spirometry and arterial blood gaseswere done for patients. Serum levels of (HIF)-1α and VEGF were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and TAC was determined by coloremetric method. Results: Serum levels of HIF-1α and VEGF were significantly higher in COPD patients in comparison tocontrols non smokers and smokers (p 0.001). However, serum level of TAC were significantly lower in COPD patients than controls non smokers and smokers (p 0.001). Increased serum levels of HIF-1α and VEGF and decreased serum level of TAC were correlated with the severity of COPD (p 0.001). There was a significant positive correlation between HIF-1α and VEGF (r=0.956, p 0.001) and a significant negative correlation between TAC and both HIF-1α and VEGF (r=–0.920, p 0.001 and r=–0.941, p 0.001 respectively). In conclusion: Expression of HIF-1α and VEGF are up-regulated and TAC down regulated in COPD patients. Over-expression of HIF-1α and VEGF may participate in the pathogenesis of COPD and varies according to the severity of this disease.