Vascular disease in COPD: Systemic and pulmonary expression of PARC (Pulmonary and Activation-Regulated Chemokine)

INTRODUCTION The role of Pulmonary and Activation-Regulated Chemokine (PARC) in the physiopathology of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is not fully understood. The aim of the present study is to analyze the expression of PARC in lung tissue and its relationship with the vascular remodeling of the systemic and pulmonary arteries of COPD subjects. METHODS To achieve this objective, protein and gene expression experiments, together with ELISA assays, were performed on the lung tissue, intercostal arteries and serum samples from COPD patients, non-obstructed smokers (NOS) and never-smokers (NS). RESULTS A total of 57 subjects were included in the analysis (23 COPD, 18 NOS and 16 NS). In the comparisons between groups, a significantly increased lung protein expression of PARC was observed in the COPD group compared to the NOS group (1.96±0.22 vs. 1.29±0.27, P-adjusted = 0.038). PARC was located predominantly in the smooth muscle cells of the remodeled pulmonary muscular arteries and the macrophage-rich area of the alveolar parenchyma. No differences were detected in PARC gene expression analyses. The protein content of PARC in the intercostal arteries were similar between groups, though little remodeling was observed in these arteries. Circulating levels of PARC were numerically higher in patients with COPD compared to NOS and NS. CONCLUSION The results of the present study suggest an increased lung protein expression of PARC in COPD subjects. This protein was mainly localized in the smooth muscle cells of the pulmonary muscular arteries and was associated with the severity of intimal thickening, indicating its possible role in this remodeling process.