Transcriptomic changes in COPD with chronic bronchitis patients following metered cryospray

Résumé fourni par la source

Background: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease with chronic bronchitis is characterized by mucus hypersecretion and epithelial metaplasia. Metered cryospray(MSC) treatment, using liquid nitrogen to ablate the abnormal epithelium in the large airways, improves the quality of life metrics, and promotes the regeneration of healthier tissues. Methods: Bronchial brush samples were collected at baseline, 6 weeks, and 6 months post-MSC(n=32). Following bulk RNA sequencing, differentially expressed genes(DEGs) were identified using the ‘DESeq2’ package in R. Pathway analysis was conducted using Gene Set Variation Analysis(GSVA) and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis(GSEA). Results: DEG analyses revealed significant airway inflammation-related changes, such as upregulation of Wnt Family Member 5B in the treatment group, and C-X-C Motif Chemokine Ligand 10 exclusively in the sham group. Cilia function-related genes, including Retinitis Pigmentosa GTPase Regulator and Coiled-Coil Domain Containing 40, were upregulated in the treatment group at 6 months. The lung architecture genes Elastin and VANGL Planar Cell Polarity Protein 2 were upregulated in the treatment group. At 6 months, GSVA indicated DNA methylation enrichment, and GSEA identified the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition(EMT) pathway, both exclusive to the treatment arm. Conclusions: At the 6-month endpoint, the treatment group exhibited reductions in genes associated with EMT and airway remodelling. At 6 weeks, changes in genes related to ciliary function, DNA methylation, and inflammation were observed. These findings suggest that the observed clinical benefits of MSC treatment may be underpinned by changes in the epithelial transcriptome.

Ce résumé expose les affirmations des auteurs. BNTIC ne l’interprète pas comme une validation indépendante des résultats.