Project description:The goal of this project is to identify novel genes that contribute to inflammation in cigarette smoke induced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Our lab is interested in a class of RNA genes called Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs). There are over 16,000 lncRNAs in the human genome and less than 3% have defined functions. Here we aim to identify inflammatory specific lncRNAs that are dysregulated following cigarette smoke exposure in macrophages.
Project description:Cigarette smoke exposure induces pulmonary inflammation despite increased risk of lung infection. We tested the ability of human beta-defensin 2, an antimicrobial peptide, to modulate inflammatory processes while promoting immune competence.
Project description:Circular RNAs, once thought to be a result of splicing errors, have been found to be involved in various molecular processes and in pathology of various diseases, including cancer and neurodegenerative disease. Additionally, circRNA expression was found to be altered by lifestyle habits, such as smoking cigarettes. Past studies have revealed that the rate of smoking remains high in the HIV-positive population. In this study, we isolated total RNA from uninfected T-cells that have been exposed to cigarette smoke and compared the expression levels of circRNAs to those of T-cells that were not exposed to cigarette smoke. We identified certain circRNAs that were upregulated or downregulated in T-cells when exposed to cigarette smoke. These data indicate that the study of circRNAs is warranted within the context of HIV infection.
Project description:Cigarette smoke is the most relevant risk factor for the development of lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Many of its more than 4500 chemicals are highly reactive, thereby altering protein structure and function. Here, we used subcellular fractionation coupled to label-free quantitative MS to globally assess alterations in the proteome of different compartments of lung epithelial cells upon exposure to cigarette smoke extract. Proteomic profiling of the human alveolar derived cell line A549 revealed the most pronounced changes within the cellular secretome with preferential downregulation of proteins involved in wound healing and extracellular matrix organization. In particular, secretion of secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine, a matricellular protein that functions in tissue response to injury, was consistently diminished by cigarette smoke extract in various pulmonary epithelial cell lines and primary cells of human and mouse origin as well as in mouse ex vivo lung tissue cultures. Our study reveals a previously unrecognized acute response of lung epithelial cells to cigarette smoke that includes altered secretion of proteins involved in extracellular matrix organization and wound healing. This may contribute to sustained alterations in tissue remodeling as observed in lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Project description:normal human bronchial epithelial cultures from two cultures in parallel exposed to cigarette smoke (CS) or air (mock) at timepoints 4 hours and 24 hours. Keywords = cigarette smoke Keywords = microarray Keywords = bronchial cell Keywords = tobacco Keywords: time-course