Assessment of bacterial exposure on phagocytic capability and surface marker expression of sputum macrophages and neutrophils in COPD patients.

Defective phagocytosis has been shown in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) bronchoalveolar lavage and blood monocyte-derived macrophages. Phagocytic capabilities of sputum macrophages and neutrophils in COPD are unknown. We investigated phagocytosis in these cells from COPD patients and controls.

Airway host-microbiome interactions in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Background: Little is known about the interactions between the lung microbiome and host response in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Methods: We performed a longitudinal 16S ribosomal RNA gene-based microbiome survey on 101 sputum samples from 16 healthy subjects and 43 COPD patients, along with characterization of host sputum transcriptome and proteome in COPD patients.

Results: Dysbiosis of sputum microbiome was observed with significantly increased relative abundance of Moraxella in COPD versus healthy subjects and during COPD exacerbations, and Haemophilus in COPD ex-smokers versus current smokers.

Ampicillin resistance in from COPD patients in the UK.

Background: is commonly isolated from the airways of COPD patients. Antibiotic treatment may cause the emergence of resistant strains, particularly ampicillin-resistant strains, including β-lactamase-negative ampicillin resistance (BLNAR) strains. Genetic identification using sequencing is the optimum method for identifying mutations within BLNAR strains.

The role of the liver X receptor in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Background: There is a need for novel anti-inflammatory therapies to treat COPD. The liver X receptor (LXR) is a nuclear hormone receptor with anti-inflammatory properties.

Methods: We investigated LXR gene and protein expression levels in alveolar macrophages and whole lung tissue from COPD patients and controls, the effect of LXR activation on the suppression of inflammatory mediators from LPS stimulated COPD alveolar macrophages, and the effect of LXR activation on the induction of genes associated with alternative macrophage polarisation.

The relationship between intranuclear mobility of the NF-kappaB subunit p65 and its DNA binding affinity.

It has been hypothesized that the main determinant of the intranuclear mobility of transcription factors is their ability to bind DNA. In the present study, we have extensively tested the relationship between the intranuclear mobility of the NF-kappaB subunit p65 and binding to its consensus target sequence. The affinity of p65 for this binding site is altered by mutation of specific acetylation sites, so these mutants provide a model system to study the relationship between specific DNA binding affinity and intranuclear mobility.