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Review
. 2018 Jan 30:13:409-418.
doi: 10.2147/COPD.S152655. eCollection 2018.

The YKL-40 protein is a potential biomarker for COPD: a meta-analysis and systematic review

Xiang Tong  1 , Dongguang Wang  1 , Sitong Liu  1 , Yao Ma  1   2 , Zhenzhen Li  3 , Panwen Tian  1   4 , Hong Fan  1
Affiliations
Free PMC article
Review

The YKL-40 protein is a potential biomarker for COPD: a meta-analysis and systematic review

Xiang Tong et al. Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis. .
Free PMC article

Abstract

Background: Many studies have found that YKL-40 may play an important pathogenic role in COPD. However, the results of these studies were inconsistent. Therefore, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the role of YKL-40 in COPD.

Methods: We performed a systematic literature search in many database and commercial internet search engines to identify studies involving the role of YKL-40 in patients with COPD. The standardized mean difference (SMD) and Fisher's Z-value with its 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to investigate the effect sizes.

Results: A total of 15 eligible articles including 16 case-control/cohort groups were included in the meta-analysis. The results indicated that the serum YKL-40 levels in patients with COPD were significantly higher than those in healthy controls (SMD =1.58, 95% CI =0.68-2.49, P=0.001), and it was correlated with lung function (pooled r=-0.32; Z=-0.33; P<0.001). The results of subgroup analysis found that the serum YKL-40 levels were statistically different between the exacerbation group and the stable group in patients with COPD (SMD =1.55, 95% CI =0.81-2.30, P<0.001). Moreover, the results indicated that the sputum YKL-40 levels in patients with COPD were also significantly higher than those in healthy controls (SMD =0.70, 95% CI =0.10-1.30, P=0.022).

Conclusion: The current study suggests that YKL-40 may be implicated in bronchial inflammation and remodeling in COPD and may be considered as a useful biomarker for COPD diagnosis and monitoring.

Keywords: COPD; YKL-40; biomarker; meta-analysis.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The flow diagram of included and excluded studies.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The results of association between serum YKL-40 levels and COPD. Note: Weights are from random effects analysis. Abbreviations: SMD, standardized mean difference; CI, confidence interval.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The result of sensitivity analysis on association between serum YKL-40 levels and COPD. Abbreviation: CI, confidence interval.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Comparison of the differences of serum YKL-40 levels in the exacerbation group and the stable group. Note: Weights are from random effects analysis. Abbreviations: SMD, standardized mean difference; CI, confidence interval.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Pooled correlation coefficients between serum YKL-40 levels and FEV1/predict%. Note: Weights are from random effects analysis. Abbreviation: CI, confidence interval.
Figure 6
Figure 6
The results of association between sputum YKL-40 levels and COPD. Note: Weights are from random effects analysis. Abbreviations: SMD, standardized mean difference; CI, confidence interval.
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