Translating the COPD transcriptome: insights into pathogenesis and tools for clinical management.

ABSTRACT: While the role cigarette smoke plays in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is undisputed, the molecular mechanisms by which inhaled smoke contributes to disease pathogenesis remains unclear. One of the major barriers to effective approaches to diagnose and manage COPD is the remarkable heterogeneity displayed by patients with the disease. Whole-genome gene-expression studies of airway and lung tissue from patients with COPD provide an opportunity to gain insights into disease pathogenesis, allowing for both a molecular understanding of the pathogenic processes that contribute to this heterogeneity, and the ability to target therapies to these processes. This review focuses on synthesizing and integrating the limited numbers of high-throughput gene expression studies that have bee

SUBMITTER: Zeskind JE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2645236 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature