TY - JOUR T1 - Gene expression profile of epithelial-mesenchymal transition in tumors of patients with nsclc: the influence of COPD JF - ERJ Open Research JO - erjor DO - 10.1183/23120541.00105-2022 SP - 00105-2022 AU - Yingchen Xia AU - Jianhua Zha AU - Víctor Curull AU - Albert Sánchez-Font AU - Maria Guitart AU - Alberto Rodríguez-Fuster AU - Rafael Aguiló AU - Esther Barreiro Y1 - 2022/01/01 UR - http://openres.ersjournals.com/content/early/2022/05/13/23120541.00105-2022.abstract N2 - Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is involved in the pathophysiology of lung cancer (LC) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and the latter is an important risk factor for LC. We hypothesized that gene expression profile of EMT and signaling cascade may differ in LC patients with COPD from those with no respiratory diseases. In lung tumor specimens obtained through video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) from LC (n=20, control group) and LC-COPD patients (n=30), gene expression (qRT-PCR) of EMT markers: SMAD3, SMAD4, ZEB2, TWIST1, SNAI1, ICAM1, VIM, CDH2, MMP1, and MMP9 were detected. In lung tumors of LC-COPD compared to LC patients, gene expression of SMAD3, SMAD4, ZEB2, and CDH2 significantly declined, while no significant differences were detected for the other analyzed markers. A significant correlation was found between packs-years (smoking burden) and SMAD3 gene expression among LC-COPD patients. LC-COPD patients exhibited mild-to-moderate airway obstruction and a significant reduction in diffusion capacity compared to LC patients. In lung tumor samples of patients with COPD, several markers of EMT expression, namely SMAD3, SMAD4, ZEB2, and CDH2 were differentially expressed suggesting that these markers are likely to play a role in the regulation of EMT in patients with this respiratory disease. Cigarette smoke did not seem to influence the expression of EMT markers in this study. These results have potential clinical implications in the management of patients with LC, particularly in those with underlying respiratory diseases.FootnotesThis manuscript has recently been accepted for publication in the ERJ Open Research. It is published here in its accepted form prior to copyediting and typesetting by our production team. After these production processes are complete and the authors have approved the resulting proofs, the article will move to the latest issue of the ERJOR online. Please open or download the PDF to view this article.Conflict of interest: Dr. Esther Barreiro is the Editor-in-Chief for ERJ Open 341 Research. The remaining authors have nothing to disclose. ER -