Ragnoli Beatrice, Fusco Federica, Pignatti Patrizia, Cena Tiziana, Valente Guido, Malerba Mario
Respiratory Unit, S. Andrea Hospital, 13100 Vercelli, Italy.
Laboratory of Pathology, Az. Ospedaliera Maggiore della Carità, 28100 Novara, Italy.
J Clin Med. 2024 Jan 21;13(2):609. doi: 10.3390/jcm13020609.
The alteration of progenitor/stem cells present in the airway epithelium has been observed in patients with COPD. Smoking exposure induces remodeling patterns in bronchial progenitor cells (BPCs), encompassing squamous metaplasia, hyperplasia of basal and of mucus-secreting cells, and the depletion of ciliated and non-mucous secretory cells. Our aim was to assess the expression of p63 and vimentin as potential markers of airway remodeling and the regulation of stem cell populations in obstructive and neoplastic lung disease patients. A retrospective single-center observational study was conducted, including patients undergoing bronchoscopy with bronchial biopsies for suspected lung cancer. p63 and vimentin expression were evaluated via immunohistochemical analysis. There were 25 patients, of which 21 with COPD were included, and 17 were diagnosed with lung cancer. We observed that FEV1% was negatively correlated with p63+ basal cell number (r = -0.614, = 0.019) and positively correlated with vimentin expression (r = 0.670; = 0.008). p63 was significantly higher in biopsies from the trachea and main bronchi compared to more distal areas ( = 0.040), whereas vimentin was prevalent in the more distal areas ( = 0.042). Our preliminary data suggest the initial evidence of structural changes in BPCs among patients with COPD and lung cancer. Further research efforts are warranted to investigate additional morphologic and functional respiratory parameters in these patients.
慢性阻塞性肺疾病（COPD）患者气道上皮中的祖细胞/干细胞已发生改变。吸烟暴露会诱导支气管祖细胞（BPC）出现重塑模式，包括鳞状化生、基底细胞和黏液分泌细胞增生以及纤毛细胞和非黏液分泌细胞减少。我们的目的是评估p63和波形蛋白作为气道重塑潜在标志物的表达以及阻塞性和肿瘤性肺病患者干细胞群的调控情况。进行了一项回顾性单中心观察性研究，纳入因疑似肺癌接受支气管镜检查并进行支气管活检的患者。通过免疫组织化学分析评估p63和波形蛋白的表达。共有25例患者，其中包括21例COPD患者，17例被诊断为肺癌。我们观察到，第一秒用力呼气容积百分比（FEV1%）与p63阳性基底细胞数量呈负相关（r = -0.614，P = 0.019），与波形蛋白表达呈正相关（r = 0.670；P = 0.008）。与更远端区域相比，气管和主支气管活检组织中的p63明显更高（P = 0.040），而波形蛋白在更远端区域更为普遍（P = 0.042）。我们的初步数据表明，COPD和肺癌患者的BPC存在结构变化的初步证据。有必要进一步开展研究，以调查这些患者的其他形态学和功能呼吸参数。
