Epithelial to mesenchymal transition is increased in patients with COPD and induced by cigarette smoke.

Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition Is Increased in Copd Patients and Induced by Cigarette Smoke

Ginsenoside Rg1 Attenuates Cigarette Smoke-Induced Pulmonary Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition via Inhibition of the TGF-β1/Smad Pathway

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a process associated with airway remodeling in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which leads to progressive pulmonary destruction. Panax ginseng is a traditional herbal medicine that has been shown to improve pulmonary function and exercise capacity in patients with COPD. Ginsenoside Rg1 is one of the main active components and was shown to...

Acute cigarette smoke exposure activates apoptotic and inflammatory programs but a second stimulus is required to induce epithelial to mesenchymal transition in COPD epithelium

BACKGROUND Smoking and aberrant epithelial responses are risk factors for lung cancer as well as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. In these conditions, disease progression is associated with epithelial damage and fragility, airway remodelling and sub-epithelial fibrosis. The aim of this study was to assess the acute effects of cigarette smoke on epithelial...

The role of uPAR in epithelial-mesenchymal transition in small airway epithelium of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

BACKGROUND Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays a crucial role in small airway fibrosis of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Increasing evidence suggests that the urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) is involved in the pathogenesis of COPD. Increased uPAR expression has been implicated in the promotion of EMT in numerous cancers; however the role of...

Upregulation of Gelatinases and Epithelial–Mesenchymal Transition in Small Airway Remodeling Associated with Chronic Exposure to Wood Smoke

BACKGROUND Peribronchiolar fibrosis is an important feature of small airway remodeling (SAR) in cigarette smoke-induced COPD. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of gelatinases (MMP9, MMP2) and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in SAR related to wood smoke (WS) exposure in a rat model. METHODS Forty-eight female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into the WS group, ...