The lead member of a new class of endogenous anti-inflammatory mediators is lipoxin A4 (LXA4), which is one of the blockers of neutrophilic inflammation, including in COPD [Bozinovski S. et al., 2012].

The study objective was to detect the activity of serum LXA4 in patients with COPD.

Materials and Methods. 40 patients with COPD were examined, the average age was 56.1±1.4 years, 90% male. Airflow limitation GOLD I had 10 (25%) pts, GOLD II ? 21 (52.5%) pts, GOLD III ? 5 (12.5%) pts, and GOLD IV ? 4 (10%) pts. Group "A" was identified in 8.4% of patients, "B" and "C" in 33.4%, and "D" - in 24.8%. Serum LXA4 concentration was determined by the ELISA method.

The Results. The average level of LXA4 decreased as the disease progressed and was 3.3 ng/ml in patients with GOLD I, 3.2 ng/ml in GOLD II, 2.0 ng/ml in GOLD III, and 1.5 ng/ml in GOLD IV. LXA4 levels were lowest in groups B and D (1.6 and 1.7 ng/ml, respectively), while in group A LXA4 was 3.0 and in group C ? 2.5 ng/ml. The LXA4 level shows a statistically significant inverse correlation with the patient belonging to group A (R = -0.76, p<0.01).

Conclusions. There is a significant decrease in anti-inflammatory activity in GOLD III and IV, as COPD progresses. LXA4 deficiency was also found in patients with a high risk of exacerbation (group D). This demonstrates the inability to resolve active systemic inflammation in patients with high GOLD grades, which can be the reason for the high exacerbation rate in such patients. This indicates the future possibilities of the replacement LXA4 therapy to prevent COPD progression.