Airway β-Defensin-1 Protein Is Elevated in COPD and Severe Asthma
Table 1
Clinical characteristics and sputum cell counts in patients with inflammatory airway diseases compared to healthy controls.
Healthy controls
Asthma
COPD
value
28
94
43
Age (years), mean (SD)
46 (19)
57 (13)
70 (8)
<0.001
Gender, M/F
12/16
38/56
23/20
0.356
Atopy, (%)
13 (46)
62 (66)
23 (53)
0.119
FEV1, % predicted, mean (SD)
107 (13)
79 (21)
55 (16)
<0.001
FEV1/FVC, %, mean (SD)
81 (7)
69 (10)
54 (11)
<0.001
BMI, kg/m2, mean (SD)
26.1 (4)
30.6 (7)
29.3 (7)
0.008
Exhaled nitric oxide (pbb), median (Q1, Q3)
18.6 (14.6, 22.3)
21.6 (14.8, 21.6)
18.1 (14.5, 23.8)
0.127
Smoking, ex/never
9/19
38/56
33/10
<0.001
Pack years, median (Q1, Q3)
17 (3, 45)
7 (3, 20)
32 (20, 54)
<0.001
Inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) use, (%)
NA
77 (82)
36 (84)
0.798
ICS dose (μg daily BDP equivalent) median (Q1, Q3)
NA
1000 (500, 2000)
2000 (1000, 2000)
0.012
Long acting β-agonist use, (%)
NA
76 (81)
34 (79)
0.808
Long acting muscarinic receptor antagonist (LAMA) use, (%)
NA
13 (14)
24 (56)
<0.001
Total cell count ×106/mL, median (Q1, Q3)
2.5 (1.3, 4.5)
3.4 (2.1, 7.1)
4.7 (2.9, 9.9)
0.007
Viability, median (Q1, Q3)
75.0 (64.3, 88.1)
77.6 (68.1, 90.9)
81.5 (75.8, 93.1)
0.142
Neutrophils, %, median (Q1, Q3)
29.0 (10.1, 52.3)
43.8 (24.8, 63.0)
73.1 (46.0, 85.5)
<0.001
Neutrophils ×104/mL, median (Q1, Q3)
55.6 (24.5, 134.4)
128.3 (53.5, 324.0)
339.1 (136.6, 705.9)
<0.001
Eosinophils, %, median (Q1, Q3)
0.3 (0.0, 0.5)
1.0 (0.3, 4.3)
0.8 (0.4, 2.3)
0.001
Eosinophils ×104/mL, median (Q1, Q3)
0.4 (0.0, 1.9)
5.6 (0.5, 29.8)
6.3 (1.5, 14.4)
<0.001
Macrophages, %, median (Q1, Q3)
66.1 (42.2, 84.0)
43.3 (24.3, 58.5)
18.9 (9.0, 49.3)
<0.001
Macrophages ×104/mL, median (Q1, Q3)
150.1 (79.4, 257.5)
137.9 (80.6, 218.7)
111.8 (54.0, 169.7)
0.187
Lymphocytes, %, median (Q1, Q3)
0.9 (0.3, 2.0)
0.5 (0.3, 1.3)
0.3 (0.0, 0.5)
0.002
Lymphocytes ×104/mL, median (Q1, Q3)
1.9 (0.4, 4.7)
1.9 (0.2, 5.0)
0.5 (0.0, 1.7)
0.009
Columnar epithelial cells, %, median (Q1, Q3)
1.9 (0.5, 7.5)
1.6 (0.3, 4.0)
1.0 (0.3, 2.0)
0.104
Columnar epithelial cells ×104/mL, median (Q1, Q3)
3.1 (1.5, 11.7)
3.7 (1.6, 10.9)
3.4 (1.3, 10.1)
0.959
versus healthy, versus asthma, and versus COPD. BMI: body mass index; FEV1: forced expiratory volume in 1 second; FVC: forced vital capacity; NA: not applicable.
