Platelets in Cystic Fibrosis Lung Inflammation

Overview

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a chronic multiorgan disorder caused by mutations in the CFTR (cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator) gene. Chronic airway infection by bacterial pathogens accounts for the progressive, suppurative pulmonary disease that leads to significant morbidity and mortality in patients with CF. Neutrophil recruitment to the lungs accounts the most important contributor to pulmonary destruction. However, there is evidence that platelets may also have an important role in the pathogenesis of inflammation. To our knowledge, there is few information in platelet levels in patients with cystic fibrosis during pulmonary exacerbation, chronic airway colonization and when stable.

Airway inflammation in CF is predominantly neutrophilic in nature with increased concentrations of pro-inflammatory mediators include TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-17, IL-33, GM-CSF and G-CSF. In addition, other cell types including macrophages and T-lymphocytes are expressed by CFTR and contribute to the CF inflammatory response. Researches have indicated that platelets may also have a significant contribution to the inflammation. Platelet depletion or antiplatelet therapies attenuate injury and mortality in animal models of acute lung injury. More importantly, CFTR expression has been shown on human platelets. Recent data suggests that CF patients have an increase in circulating activated platelets and platelet reactivity. Taken together, these observations support a potentially important role of platelets in regulating lung inflammation in CF. However, there are few studies examine platelet and lung inflammation interraction in patients with CF. Therefore we aimed to investigate platelet count (PC) and mean platelet volume (MPV) levels in various conditions in our CF patients.

Conditions