Interleukin-8, tumor necrosis factor-α levels in the sputum and airway inflammation cells distribution in the patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Objective To compare the difference in sputum interleukin (IL)-8, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α levels and inflammatory cells constituent among the patients in stable phase of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), healthy elderly smoker and healthy elderly non-smoker to know relationship between IL-8, TNF-α, neutrophil in sputum and smoke and the mechanism of COPD.Methods Induced sputum samples were obtained from 38 smoking patients with stable COPD, 30 healthy smokers, 30 healthy nonsmokers. Differential cell counts in induced sputum were examined. The levels of supernatant IL-8 and TNF-α of sputum were measured by ELISA.Results Sputum IL-8, TNF-α and neutrophil proportion in COPD group were significantly higher than those in healthy smoking and healthy nonsmoking groups respective (P0.01, P0.01). The levels of IL-8 and TNF-α in sputum of COPD group were positively relation to neutrophil proportion (r=0.761, r=0.495). In healthy smoking group, the levels of IL-8 in sputum were obviously positive correlated with neutrophil proportion (r=0.544).Conclusions Neutrophil, IL-8 and TNF-α could together participate in the pathogenetic process of airway inflammation in smoker with COPD.