Dataset Information

A dynamic bronchial airway gene expression signature of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung function impairment.

ABSTRACT:

Rationale

Molecular phenotyping of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has been impeded in part by the difficulty in obtaining lung tissue samples from individuals with impaired lung function.

Objectives

We sought to determine whether COPD-associated processes are reflected in gene expression profiles of bronchial airway epithelial cells obtained by bronchoscopy.

Methods

Gene expression profiling of bronchial brushings obtained from 238 current and former smokers with and without COPD was performed using Affymetrix Human Gene 1.0 ST Arrays.

Measurements and main results

We identified 98 genes whose expression levels were associated with COPD status, FEV1% predicted, and FEV1/FVC. In silico analysis identified activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4) as a potential transcriptional regulator of genes with COPD-associated airway expression, and ATF4 overexpression in airway epithelial cells in vitro recapitulates COPD-associated gene expression changes. Genes with COPD-associated expression in the bronchial airway epithelium had similarly altered expression profiles in prior studies performed on small-airway epithelium and lung parenchyma, suggesting that transcriptomic alterations in the bronchial airway epithelium reflect molecular events found at more distal sites of disease activity. Many of the airway COPD-associated gene expression changes revert toward baseline after therapy with the inhaled corticosteroid fluticasone in independent cohorts.

Conclusions

Our findings demonstrate a molecular field of injury throughout the bronchial airway of active and former smokers with COPD that may be driven in part by ATF4 and is modifiable with therapy. Bronchial airway epithelium may ultimately serve as a relatively accessible tissue in which to measure biomarkers of disease activity for guiding clinical management of COPD.

SUBMITTER: Steiling K

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3707363 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Similar Datasets

Project description:Progressive decline in lung function is a hallmark of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Although airway dysbiosis occurs in COPD, whether it contributes to disease progression remains unknown. Here, through a longitudinal analysis on 181 COPD individuals from two large cohorts involving four UK clinical centers, we showed that baseline airway dysbiosis, characterized by enrichment of opportunistic pathogenic taxa, was associated with rapid forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) decline over two years. Co-presence of Moraxella, Staphylococcus and Stenotrophomonas was associated with an accelerated FEV1 decline by 139.7 mL/year. The dysbiosis was associated with exacerbation-related FEV1 fall and sudden FEV1 fall at clinical stability, two critical events contributing to long-term FEV1 decline. The microbiota association with FEV1 decline was validated in a third, independent cohort in China. Human multi-omics, murine and cellular mechanistic studies showed that chronic airway colonization of Staphylococcus aureus promoted lung function decline through producing homocysteine, which elicited an apoptosis-to-NETosis shift in neutrophils toward persistent inflammation via AKT1-S100A8/A9 axis. Prophylactic and therapeutic depletion of S. aureus via bacteriophage restored lung function in emphysema mice. These results provide a fresh approach to slow COPD progression by targeting the airway microbiome. Linked studies:UPLC-MS/MS assays of human samples are reported in this study.UPLC-MS/MS assays of murine samples are reported in <a href='https://www.ebi.ac.uk/metabolights/MTBLS6894' rel='noopener noreferrer' target='_blank'>MTBLS6894</a>.UPLC-MS/MS assays of original cohort human samples are reported in <a href='https://www.ebi.ac.uk/metabolights/MTBLS4017' rel='noopener noreferrer' target='_blank'>MTBLS4017</a>.