@Article{ecn.2010.0193,
AUTHOR = {Gordana Pavlisa, Goran Pavlisa, Vesna Kusec, Slobodanka Ostojic Kolonic, Asja Stipic Markovic, Branimir Jaksic},
TITLE = {Serum levels of VEGF and bFGF in hypoxic patients with exacerbated COPD},
JOURNAL = {European Cytokine Network},
VOLUME = {21},
YEAR = {2010},
NUMBER = {2},
PAGES = {92--98},
URL = {http://www.techscience.com/ECN/v21n2/65866},
ISSN = {1952-4005},
ABSTRACT = {Hypoxia frequently complicates the course of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) are the two most potent
angiogenic factors and may play a role in adaptation to hypoxia. The aims of the study were to assess the
serum levels of VEGF and bFGF and to evaluate their mutual relationship in hypoxic patients with exacerbated
COPD. The study group consisted of 50 hypoxic (PaO<sub>2</sub> 53 mmHg) patients with exacerbated COPD. Control
groups were 30 stable COPD patients with PaO<sub>2</sub> 70 mmHg, and 30 healthy blood donors. The serum concentrations
of VEGF and bFGF were measured using commercial enzyme-linked immunoassay kits. Patients with
exacerbated COPD had significantly higher serum VEGF levels (1,089.16 ± 1,128.03 pg/mL) compared to those
with stable COPD (197.68 ± 178.06 pg/mL) (p < 0.0001) and healthy blood donor group (257.69 ± 170.4 pg/mL)
(p < 0.0001). Serum bFGF levels were significantly higher in the exacerbated COPD group (6.15 ± 2.56 pg/mL)
compared to control groups (p = 0.0001). Basic FGF was undetectable in the stable COPD and blood donor
groups. Since VEGF and bFGF correlated significantly with the majority of factors investigated in COPD
patients, multivariate analysis was performed. According to the step-wise regression analysis, VEGF was best
determined by PaO<sub>2</sub>, WBC and IL-6. Basic FGF was best determined by PaO<sub>2</sub> and pH. The highly significant,
simple correlation between VEGF and bFGF was lost in multivariate analysis. This suggests that their correlation
is not independent, but due to factors that remain in the model after step-wise regression. These are essentially
linked to the level of hypoxia. Results of our study suggest that VEGF and bFGF production is stimulated
in hypoxic patients with exacerbated COPD. Elevated levels of VEGF and bFGF may activate the process of
neoangiogenesis, which may lead to increased perfusion and an improvement in tissue oxygenation in this
group of patients.},
DOI = {10.1684/ecn.2010.0193}
}