Altered gene expression and cell interactions involved in COPD
Date:
January 27, 2022
Source:
Baylor College of Medicine
Summary:
A team of researchers has identified previously unrecognized
changes in gene expression and cellular interactions in distinct
cell populations in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
FULL STORY ========================================================================== Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, Yale University and other institutions have identified previously unrecognized changes in gene
expression and cellular interactions in distinct cell populations in
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The findings highlight
the complexity and diversity of cellular injury and inflammation in COPD providing a better understanding of the factors and processes involved
in the disease.
========================================================================== Published in Nature Communications, the study used single-cell RNA
sequencing to analyze gene expression profiles of lung tissue obtained
from patients with COPD and from mice exposed to cigarette smoke. The researchers separated all the cells within the lung and measured the gene expression profile of each individual cell. Then, they organized this information in a cell atlas that is available to researchers interested in exploring gene expression in individual cells in lungs with the disease.
"Our analysis identified novel changes in gene expression and cellular interactions in three distinct cell populations commonly implicated
in COPD: epithelial (in the lungs), endothelial (in blood vessels)
and macrophage cells (part of the immune system)," said Dr. Ivan Rosas,
senior author of the study and section chief of pulmonary, critical care
and sleep medicine in the Department of Medicine at Baylor.
The researchers identified a subpopulation of epithelial cells in lungs
with COPD that has abnormal expression of genes involved in metabolic, antioxidant and cellular stress responses, when compared to controls.
"This highly innovative translational study is a continuation of a
successful long-standing collaboration with Dr. Naftali Kaminski and
colleagues at Yale University, which has led to the description of
multiple lung cell atlases in health and disease that are now publicly available. In the current study, Drs.
Maor Sauler and John McDonough of Yale University, the corresponding
authors, demonstrate that endothelial cells in capillary blood vessels
in COPD lungs are inflamed, and that a subpopulation of macrophages
expressing high levels of metallothioneins, proteins that regulate
the balance of certain metals in the body, seems to contribute to the
disease," Rosas said.
Future studies evaluating outcomes of specific alterations identified in
this study will provide further insights into mechanisms that contribute
to COPD and having a large and accessible data set of COPD cells, such as
the cell atlas here, is an essential tool to begin developing therapies
to target the condition.
The research team continues to focus on developing innovative genomic
datasets to better understand the pathologic underpinnings of chronic
lung disease. They are currently in the process of completing the largest COVID-19 lung fibrosis cell atlas.
========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Baylor_College_of_Medicine. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.
========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Maor Sauler, John E. McDonough, Taylor S. Adams, Neeharika
Kothapalli,
Thomas Barnthaler, Rhiannon B. Werder, Jonas C. Schupp,
Jessica Nouws, Matthew J. Robertson, Cristian Coarfa, Tao Yang,
Maurizio Chioccioli, Norihito Omote, Carlos Cosme, Sergio Poli,
Ehab A. Ayaub, Sarah G. Chu, Klaus H. Jensen, Jose L. Gomez,
Clemente J. Britto, Micha Sam B. Raredon, Laura E. Niklason,
Andrew A. Wilson, Pascal N. Timshel, Naftali Kaminski, Ivan
O. Rosas. Characterization of the COPD alveolar niche using single-
cell RNA sequencing. Nature Communications, 2022; 13 (1) DOI:
10.1038/ s41467-022-28062-9 ==========================================================================
Link to news story:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/01/220127172616.htm
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