Correlation of serum levels of HIF-1α and IL-19 with the disease progression of COPD: a retrospective study

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to disclose the correlation between the serum levels of hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF-1α) and IL-19 and stable COPD. METHODS: The serum levels of HIF-1α and IL-19 were tested by ELISA. The relationships between their levels and clinical parameters of stable COPD patients were analyzed by linear regression methods. RESULTS: Patients with stable COPD showed higher serum levels of HIF-1α and IL-19 compared with healthy control group (P<0.001), and serum levels of HIF-1α and IL-19 had a positive linear correlation (P<0.05). In stable COPD patients, increased serum levels of HIF-1α and IL-19 were positively correlated with the GOLD grading (P<0.005), modified British Medical Research Council (mMRC) score (P<0.05), and medical history (P<0.05) but negatively related to the pulmonary function (P<0.05). The serum level of HIF-1α (P<0.05) was affected by the patient’s FEV(1)/FVC value and COPD grading, and the serum level of IL-19 was associated with the mMRC scores and the serum level of HIF-1α (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Increased serum levels of HIF-1α and IL-19 correlated with the disease progression of COPD, suggesting that they can be used as indicators to help us understand the COPD.