Systemic elastin degradation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

BackgroundDevelopment of emphysema and vascular stiffness in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) may be due to a common mechanism of susceptibility to pulmonary and systemic elastin degradation.ObjectivesTo investigate whether patients with COPD have evidence of systemic elastin degradation in the skin.MethodsThe authors measured cutaneous elastin degradation using immunohistochemistry (percentage area of elastin fibres) in sun-exposed (exposed) and non-sun-exposed (non-exposed) skin biopsies in 16 men with COPD and 15 controls matched for age and cigarette smoke exposure. Quantitative PCR of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2, -9, -12 and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 mRNA and zymography for protein expression of MMP-2 and -9 were performed on homogenised skin. Arterial stiffness and emphysema severity were measured using carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity and quantitative CT scanning.ResultsSkin elastin degradation was greater in exposed and non-exposed skin of patients with COPD compared with controls (exposed, mean (SD); 43.5 (12.1)% vs 26.3 (6.9)%, p