Endocan as a Potential Biomarker of Disease Severity and Exacerbations in COPD

Introduction Endocan is a proteoglycan that is regarded as a novel marker of endothelial dysfunction. Endothelial dysfunction in pulmonary vascular bed is known to play an important role for the pathogenesis of COPD. Objective This study aimed to determine serum endocan levels in patients with stable COPD and acute exacerbation of COPD (AECOPD) and to test the relationship between serum endocan levels and exacerbations. Methods This study enrolled a total of 55 COPD patients, 24 of which had AECOPD and 31 had stable COPD. All patients' basic demographic and clinical data were recorded and blood samples were collected. Results Serum endocan levels were significantly higher in the AECOPD group compared to the stable COPD and control groups (for both p Conclusion Endocan may be a novel biomarker for detection of endothelial dysfunction and prediction of exacerbations in patients with COPD.