Table 2

Patient characteristics in the specimens examined by Western analysis.


Non-smoker
N = 7
Smoker
N = 7
COPD
N = 16
p-value

Age, years
63 (13)
59 (4)
62 (10)
0.754
Sex M:F
4:3
5:2
12:4
0.688
Pack-years
0
36 (16)*
34 (17)§
0.000
FEV1 %predicted
88 (18)
88 (13)
55 (31)*#
0.005
FEV1/FVC %
83 (9)
83 (10)
57 (20)*#
0.000
MEF50 %pred
88 (35)
84 (61)
37 (22)
0.066
DCO %pred
95 (20)
82 (10)
52 (22)§
0.003
DCO/VA %pred
100 (18)
89 (9)
62 (24) §
0.006

Mean (SD)

All cases were studied for the expression of GST pi, but due to the exhaustion of biopsy material, only 4 non-smokers, 3 smokers and 8 COPD-cases were included in the Western analysis for GST alpha expression and 4 smokers, 4 non-smokers and 10 COPD-patients for GST mu expression.

*The mean difference between non-smokers and smokers is significant at the 0.05 level, Dunnett t-test.

§ The mean difference between non-smokers and COPD-patients is significant at the 0.05 level, Dunnett t-test.

# The mean difference between smokers and COPD-patients is significant at the 0.05 level, Dunnett t-test.

Harju et al. Respiratory Research 2008 9:80   doi:10.1186/1465-9921-9-80