Autoimmune Mechanisms of Cardiac Remodeling in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have high risk of cardiovascular events due to the remodeling of the heart and vessels. We investigated whether in COPD cardiac remodeling is associated with immune response to the inflammation by studying activated T-lymphocytes, CD3+, CD4+, CD8+ subsets of T-lymphocytes autoimmune lymphocytotoxic and granulocytotoxic antibodies, circulating immune complexes, bacterial sensibilization and hypersensitivity by the delayed type to the host heart tissue antigens. It turned out that progression of COPD is characterized by the decrease of cell immunity with formation of bacterial sensibilization and autosensibilization to the heart tissue antigens, strongly associated with cardiac remodeling. Thus, the presence of autoimmune response significantly contributes to the changes of heart geometry in patients with COPD.