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Attached stratified mucus separates bacteria from the epithelial cells in COPD lungs
- Source :
- JCI Insight
- Publication Year :
- 2018
-
Abstract
- The respiratory tract is normally kept essentially free of bacteria by cilia-mediated mucus transport, but in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and cystic fibrosis (CF), bacteria and mucus accumulates instead. To address the mechanisms behind the mucus accumulation, the proteome of bronchoalveolar lavages from COPD patients and mucus collected in an elastase-induced mouse model of COPD was analyzed, revealing similarities with each other and with the protein content in colonic mucus. Moreover, stratified laminated sheets of mucus were observed in airways from patients with CF and COPD and in elastase-exposed mice. On the other hand, the mucus accumulation in the elastase model was reduced in Muc5b-KO mice. While mucus plugs were removed from airways by washing with hypertonic saline in the elastase model, mucus remained adherent to epithelial cells. Bacteria were trapped on this mucus, whereas, in non-elastase-treated mice, bacteria were found on the epithelial cells. We propose that the adherence of mucus to epithelial cells observed in CF, COPD, and the elastase-induced mouse model of COPD separates bacteria from the surface cells and, thus, protects the respiratory epithelium.
- Subjects :
- 0301 basic medicine
Cystic Fibrosis
Respiratory Mucosa
Cystic fibrosis
Microbiology
03 medical and health sciences
Mice
Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive
0302 clinical medicine
fluids and secretions
medicine
Animals
Humans
Lung
Mice, Knockout
COPD
biology
Bacteria
Pancreatic Elastase
Chemistry
Elastase
Epithelial Cells
General Medicine
respiratory system
medicine.disease
biology.organism_classification
Mucus
Mucin-5B
Hypertonic saline
respiratory tract diseases
Mice, Inbred C57BL
Disease Models, Animal
030104 developmental biology
medicine.anatomical_structure
030228 respiratory system
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Respiratory epithelium
Female
Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid
Respiratory tract
Research Article
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 23793708
- Volume :
- 3
- Issue :
- 17
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- JCI insight
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....5f995c4de3ba577cde42a26ae3e62efd