Identification of novel target genes in human lung tissue involved in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Lena Heinbockel*, Sebastian Marwitz, Andra B. Schromm, Henrik Watz, Christian Kugler, Ole Ammerpohl, Karoline Schnepf, Klaus F. Rabe, Daniel Droemann, Torsten Goldmann

*Corresponding author for this work
15 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Introduction: As part of a study aimed at illuminating at least some of the complex molecular events taking place in COPD, we screened tissues by means of transcriptome analyses. Materials and methods: Tissues were subjected to transcriptome analysis. Candidate genes were identified and validated by immunohistochemistry. Primary human lung cells were subjected to stimulation with cigarette smoke extract for further validation by real time PCR. Results: Six candidate genes were selected for further investigations: Aquaporin 3 (AQP3), extracellular matrix protein 1 (ECM1), four and a half LIM domain 1 (FHL1), milk fat globule epidermal growth factor 8 (MFGE8, lactadherin), phosphodiesterase 4D-interacting protein (PDE4DIP), and creatine transporter SLC6A8. All six proteins were allocated to distinct cell types by immunohistochemistry. Upon stimulation with cigarette smoke extract, human type II pneumocytes showed a dose-dependent down-regulation of MFGE8, while ECM1 and FHL1 also tended to be down-regulated. Although present, none of the candidates was regulated by cigarette smoke extract in primary human macrophages. Discussion: MFGE8 turned out to be an interesting new candidate gene in COPD deserving further studies.

Original languageEnglish
JournalInternational Journal of COPD
Volume13
Pages (from-to)2255-2259
Number of pages5
ISSN1176-9106
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2018

Funding

The study was funded by the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), disease area COPD, Gen.2. Patient tissues were provided by the BioMaterialBank North, which is funded in part by the Airway Research Center North (ARCN), a member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), and is a member of popgen 2.0 network (P2N), which is supported by a grant from the German Ministry for Education and Research (01EY1103). The authors thank Bettina Baron-Lühr, Patricia Prilla, Stefanie Fox, Jasmin Tiebach, Kristin Wiczkowski, and Maria Lammers for their excellent technical assistance as well as Dr Klaas F. Franzen for providing the CSE. The author Lena Heinbockel is supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, project DR797/3-1 611672). The authors report no other conflicts of interest in this work.

Research Areas and Centers

  • Academic Focus: Center for Infection and Inflammation Research (ZIEL)

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Identification of novel target genes in human lung tissue involved in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this