Arsenic alters transcriptional responses to Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection and decreases antimicrobial defense of human airway epithelial cells.

ABSTRACT: Arsenic contamination of drinking water and food threatens the health of hundreds of millions of people worldwide by increasing the risk of numerous diseases. Arsenic exposure has been associated with infectious lung disease in epidemiological studies, but it is not yet understood how ingestion of low levels of arsenic increases susceptibility to bacterial infection. Accordingly, the goal of this study was to examine the effect of arsenic on gene expression in primary human bronchial epithelial (HBE) cells and to determine if arsenic altered epithelial cell responses to Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an opportunistic pathogen. Bronchial epithelial cells line the airway surface, providing a physical barrier and serving critical roles in antimicrobial defense and signaling to professional immune ce

SUBMITTER: Goodale BC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5568502 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature