Soluble Transferrin Receptor-1 in Pulmonary Hypertension Associated with COPD.

Purpose: The pulmonary vascular involvement of COPD ranges from severe airway obstruction without pulmonary hypertension (PH) to mild airway obstruction with severe PH. Iron-dependent molecular regulators like hypoxia-inducible factor-2 (HIF-2) may contribute to these phenotypic variations. We explored the role of soluble transferrin receptor-1 (sTfR1) for diagnosis and prognosis of PH associated with COPD.

Endotyping COPD: hypoxia-inducible factor-2 as a molecular "switch" between the vascular and airway phenotypes?

COPD is a heterogeneous disease with multiple clinical phenotypes. COPD endotypes can be determined by different expressions of hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs), which, in combination with individual susceptibility and environmental factors, may cause predominant airway or vascular changes in the lung. The pulmonary vascular phenotype is relatively rare among COPD patients and characterised by out-of-proportion pulmonary hypertension (PH) and low diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide, but only mild-to-moderate airway obstruction.