• Altered gene expression and cell interac

    From ScienceDaily@1:317/3 to All on Thu Jan 27 21:30:48 2022
    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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