Analysis of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), heparin-binding protein (HBP), and regulatory T cells The predictive significance of Treg level detection for patients with bronchial asthma (BA) complicated with pulmonary infection.

A retrospective analysis was conducted on the case data of 67 asthma patients admitted to our hospital from June 2020 to December 2024. According to whether there was lung infection or not, they were divided into 32 infected cases as the observation group and 35 cases without lung infection as the control group. The clinical data, pulmonary function parameters, changes in blood VCAM-1, HBP protein and Treg cell levels of the two groups of patients were compared. Pearson or Spearman rank correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlations between the levels of blood VCAM-1, HBP protein and Treg cells and pulmonary function parameters, and the receiver operating characteristic was applied. The ROC curve was used to predict the levels of VCAM-1, HBP protein and Treg cells for pulmonary infection in patients with bronchial asthma.

The white blood cell count (WBC) of patients in the observation group was (7.53±2.82) ×10⁹/L, procalcitonin (PCT) was (0.24±0.12) ng/ml, and C-reactive protein (CRP) was (34.04±12.82) mg/L, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) was (19.57±2.36) mm/1 h, partial pressure of carbon dioxide in arterial blood (PaCO₂) (51.36±7.25) mmHg, VCAM-1 (532.22±68.87) ng/ml and HBP (54.68±14.88) ng/ml were higher than those in the control group [(5.84±1.61) ×10⁹/L, (0.17±0.05) ng/ml, (28.63±7.49) mg/L, (18.41±2.17) mm/1 h, (46.29±7.63) mmHg, (421.71±68.35) ng/ml, (35.84±8.92) ng/ml], partial pressure of oxygen in arterial blood (PaO₂) was (69.38±9.85) mmHg, forced expiratory volume in one second (1.53±0.27) L, ratio of forced expiratory volume in one second to forced vital capacity (FEV₁/FVC) was (55.18±7.10)%, peak expiratory flow (PEF) (316.69±31.24)L/min and Treg (3.88±0.56)% were lower than those in the control group [(72.85±8.43)mmHg, (1.71±0.29)L, (62.82±9.20)%, (343.05±41.77)L/min, (4.75±0.61)%], the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). In patients with bronchial asthma, VCAM-1 was negatively correlated with the parameters of pulmonary function FEV₁, FEV₁/FVC, and PEF (r=-0.433, -0.532, -0.489, P<0.05). The HBP protein in patients with bronchial asthma was negatively correlated with the parameters of pulmonary function FEV₁, FEV₁/FVC, and PEF (r=-0.340, -0.465, -0.517, P<0.05). The level of Treg cells was positively correlated with the parameters of FEV₁, FEV₁/FVC and PEF in lung function (r=0.367, 0.461, 0.468, P<0.05). The ROC curve showed that the AUCs of VCAM-1, HBP protein, and Treg cell levels for predicting pulmonary infection in patients with bronchial asthma, respectively and in combination, were 0.887, 0.861, 0.870, and 0.900, respectively. There was no difference in the AUC values predicted respectively and in combination (P>0.05). There were 24 cases of bilateral lung infection and 3 cases of thoracic deposition in patients with bronchial asthma complicated with pulmonary infection.

The levels of VCAM-1, HBP protein and Treg cells are closely related to pulmonary infection and have predictive significance for BA complicated with pulmonary infection, providing a reference for clinical diagnosis, treatment and disease monitoring.