Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae infection of pulmonary macrophages drives neutrophilic inflammation in severe asthma.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) is a respiratory tract pathobiont that chronically colonizes the airways of asthma patients and is associated with severe, neutrophilic disease phenotypes. The mechanism of NTHi airway persistence is not well understood, but accumulating evidence suggests NTHi can persist within host airway immune cells such as macrophages. We hypothesized that NTHi infection of pulmonary macrophages drives neutrophilic inflammation in severe asthma.

Methods

Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) samples from 25 severe asthma patients were assessed by fluorescence in situ hybridisation to quantify NTHi presence. Weighted gene correlation network analysis (WGCNA) was performed on RNASeq data from NTHi-infected monocyte-derived macrophages to identify

SUBMITTER: Ackland J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9796932 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature