Genes related to emphysema are enriched for ubiquitination pathways.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Increased small airway resistance and decreased lung elasticity contribute to the airflow limitation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The lesion that corresponds to loss of lung elasticity is emphysema; the small airway obstruction is due to inflammatory narrowing and obliteration. Despite their convergence in altered physiology, different mechanisms contribute to these processes. The relationships between gene expression and these specific phenotypes may be more revealing than comparison with lung function.

Methods

We measured the ratio of alveolar surface area to lung volume (SA/V) in lung tissue from 43 smokers. Two samples from 21 subjects, in which SA/V differed by >49 cm2/mL were profiled to select genes whose expression correlated with SA/V.

SUBMITTER: Stepaniants S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4280711 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature