Abstract: Objective To investigate the changes of serum galectin-3 and IL-38 levels in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease （COPD） and their correlation with pulmonary function. Methods From January 2016 to April 2018,151 patients with acute exacerbation of COPD were selected as acute group, 107 stable COPD patients and 129 healthy people in the same period were selected as stable group and control group. Serum Galectin-3,IL-38,CRP and PCT levels and lung function were measured at the time of enrollment. Pearson correlation was used to analyze the correlation among serum Galectin-3,IL-38,CRP and PCT levels and lung function. Results The serum levels of Galectin-3,IL-38,CRP and PCT were higher in acute group and stable group than in control group （P<0.05）. The serum levels of Galectin-3,IL-38,CRP and PCT in acute group were higher than those in the stable group （P<0.05）. The levels of PEF% pred, FEV1% pred and FEV1/FVC in acute group and stable group were lower than those of in control group （P<0.05）,and the levels of PEF% pred, FEV1% pred and FEV1/FVC in acute group were lower than those in stable group（P<0.05）. Serum Galectin-3,IL-38,CRP and PCT levels were negatively correlated with pulmonary function indices （PEF% perd, FEV1% pred,FEV1/FVC,P<0.05）. ROC curve analysis showed that the area under curve （AUC） of serum Galectin-3 and IL-38 in the diagnosis of acute exacerbation of COPD was 0.839 and 0.893, the sensitivity was 0.808 and 0.781, and the specificity was respectively 0.841 and 0.748. The AUC,sensitivity and specificity of serum Galectin-3 and IL-38 in the diagnosis of acute exacerbation of COPD were higher than those of CRP （AUC: 0.735, sensitivity: 0.722, specificity:0.710） and PCT （AUC:0.760, sensitivity: 0.702, specificity:0.682）. Conclusion Serum Galectin-3 and IL-38 levels increased significantly in COPD patients, which were closely related to lung function. And serum Galectin-3 and IL-38 could be used as a biological marker for estimating the severity of COPD. However, the diagnostic value of serum Galectin-3 and IL-38 in acute exacerbation of COPD are better than that of CRP and PCT.

Key words: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Galectin-3, Interleukins-38, Pulmonary function, Clinical value