Pneumocystis murina infection and cigarette smoke exposure interact to cause increased organism burden, development of airspace enlargement, and pulmonary inflammation in mice.

ABSTRACT: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by the presence of airflow obstruction and lung destruction with airspace enlargement. In addition to cigarette smoking, respiratory pathogens play a role in pathogenesis, but specific organisms are not always identified. Recent reports demonstrate associations between the detection of Pneumocystis jirovecii DNA in lung specimens or respiratory secretions and the presence of emphysema in COPD patients. Additionally, human immunodeficiency virus-infected individuals who smoke cigarettes develop early emphysema, but a role for P. jirovecii in pathogenesis remains speculative. We developed a new experimental model using immunocompetent mice to test the interaction of cigarette smoke exposure and environmentally acquired Pneumocysti

SUBMITTER: Christensen PJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2493196 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature