Beyond epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition: Common suppression of differentiation programs underlies epithelial barrier dysfunction in mild, moderate, and severe asthma.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Epithelial barrier dysfunction is a central feature in the pathogenesis of allergic disease. Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) has been proposed as one mechanism afflicting barrier in asthma. However, genes and pathways involved in aberrant epithelial-mesenchymal signaling, and their relationship to asthma severity, are poorly understood.

Methods

We used unbiased gene network analysis to evaluate functional convergence in epithelial gene expression signatures across multiple public access transcriptomics datasets of human asthma, followed by text mining to evaluate functional marker relevance of discovered genes. We objectively confirmed these findings in epithelial brushings and primary asthmatic epithelial cells cultured in different biological contexts

SUBMITTER: Loffredo LF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5698119 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature