Abstract
Morbidity and mortality of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are considerable and still increasing. The disease is gaining increasing socioeconomic importance. The knowledge of underlying mechanisms is of special relevance because of the lack of a curative therapy. Respiratory infections have been identified as the most important triggers of acute exacerbations but recent data suggest that they might also play an important role in COPD pathogenesis. This knowledge might offer new therapeutic perspectives in the future. The aim of this review is, therefore, to describe the inflammatory processes involved and to specify the role of respiratory infections in this context.
MeSH terms
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Asthma / complications
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Asthma / immunology
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Bacterial Infections / complications
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Bacterial Infections / immunology
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Bronchitis / complications
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Bronchitis / immunology
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Common Cold / complications
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Common Cold / immunology
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Disease Progression
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Humans
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Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 / metabolism
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Interleukin-6 / metabolism
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Interleukin-8 / metabolism
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Neutrophils / immunology
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Picornaviridae Infections / complications
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Picornaviridae Infections / immunology
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Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / etiology*
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Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / immunology
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Respiratory Tract Infections / complications*
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Respiratory Tract Infections / immunology
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Rhinovirus
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Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / metabolism
Substances
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Interleukin-6
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Interleukin-8
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Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
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Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1