Respiratory tract diseases articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    Cystic fibrosis is caused by mutations in the CFTR chloride channel. Here, the authors develop a gene therapy approach using the programmable nuclease AsCas12a to correct a splicing mutation in CFTR, and show efficient repair of the mutation and recovery of CFTR function in patient-derived organoids and airway epithelial cells.

    • Giulia Maule
    • , Antonio Casini
    •  & Anna Cereseto

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Identification of host factors associated with severe influenza infection could provide insights into treatment options. Here, the authors provide transcriptomic analyses of blood from >100 influenza infected patients and show that changes in circulating neutrophils are associated with severe influenza infection.

    • Benjamin M. Tang
    • , Maryam Shojaei
    •  & Klaus Schughart

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Mitochondria of alveolar type 2 epithelial cells (AEC2) in the lung have been suggested to play a role in the development of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Here the authors show that loss of mitofusin1 and mitofusin2 in murine AEC2 cells leads to the development of lung fibrosis through the regulation of surfactant lipids.

    • Kuei-Pin Chung
    • , Chia-Lang Hsu
    •  & Augustine M. K. Choi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Altered iron homeostasis resulting in excessive oxidative stress has been implicated in smoke-induced lung diseases. Here the authors show that ferroptosis of lung epithelial cells, potentially resulting from excessive ferritinophagy, is involved in the pathogenesis of COPD.

    • Masahiro Yoshida
    • , Shunsuke Minagawa
    •  & Kazuyoshi Kuwano

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Streptococcus pneumoniae is a common coloniser of the human nasopharynx, but it also causes severe diseases. Here, Weight et al. use an experimental human pneumococcal carriage model to show that bacterial colonisation is associated with invasion of the epithelium and enhancement of immune responses.

    • Caroline M. Weight
    • , Cristina Venturini
    •  & Robert S. Heyderman

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Epigenetic differences in nasal epithelium have been proposed as a biomarker for lower airway disease and asthma. Here, in epigenome-wide association studies for asthma and other airway traits using nasal swabs, the authors identify differentially methylated CpGs that highlight genes involved in TH2 response.

    • Andres Cardenas
    • , Joanne E. Sordillo
    •  & Diane R. Gold

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is associated with myofibroblast activation in the lungs and metabolic alterations. Here, the authors show that the antidiabetic drug metformin has antifibrotic effects in human-derived samples and mouse models, by modulating a number of metabolic pathways to induce lipogenic transdifferentiation of myofibroblasts.

    • Vahid Kheirollahi
    • , Roxana M. Wasnick
    •  & Elie El Agha

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a lethal disease with insufficient treatment strategies. Here the authors show that reduction of the microRNA MIRLET7D and hyperactivation of EP300 contribute to impaired epigenetic silencing by the MiCEE complex in pulmonary fibroblasts of IPF patients, and demonstrate the benefit of inhibiting EP300 for the treatment of IPF.

    • Karla Rubio
    • , Indrabahadur Singh
    •  & Guillermo Barreto

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Pulmonary hypertension is characterized by a metabolic switch similar to the Warburg effect in cancer. Here Dabral et al. describe a RASSF1a-HIF-1α feedforward loop driving the Warburg effect both in a mouse model of hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension and a subset of human cancer cells.

    • Swati Dabral
    • , Christian Muecke
    •  & Soni S. Pullamsetti

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Gastric aspiration severely injures donor lungs, frequently making them unacceptable for transplantation. Here the authors show that an interventional cross-circulation platform enables the regeneration of severely damaged lungs in a swine model of gastric aspiration injury.

    • Brandon A. Guenthart
    • , John D. O’Neill
    •  & Matthew Bacchetta

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Personalized approaches to diagnosis and treatment monitoring could improve the management of cystic fibrosis patients. Here the authors show that multiscale differential dynamic microscopy can assess changes in cilia beating dynamics and coordination in patient-derived airway epithelial cells, in response to different CFTR-modulating drugs, in a patient-specific manner.

    • M. Chioccioli
    • , L. Feriani
    •  & P. Cicuta

  • Review Article
    | Open Access

    How can scientists and policymakers work together to reduce the health impacts of air pollution? In this review paper, the authors discuss the interplay between advances in environmental exposure assessment and policy advances to tackle pollution in a focused way.

    • Andrew Caplin
    • , Masoud Ghandehari
    •  & George Thurston

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The burden of asthma varies between ancestries, but GWAS have so far focused on mainly European ancestry populations. Here, Daya et al. perform GWAS for asthma in 14,654 individuals of African ancestry and, besides confirming previously known loci, identify two potentially African ancestry-specific loci.

    • Michelle Daya
    • , Nicholas Rafaels
    •  & Maria Yazdanbakhsh

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway has been previously implicated in fibrosis and a pan-PI3K/mTOR inhibitor is currently under clinical evaluation for the treatment of IPF. Here the authors show that the mTORC1/4E-BP1 axis is critical for TGF-β1-induced fibrogenesis in in vitro and ex vivo models and that canonical PI3K/Akt signalling is dispensable.

    • Hannah V. Woodcock
    • , Jessica D. Eley
    •  & Rachel C. Chambers

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The promoter variant rs35705950 confers a gain of function to the MUC5B gene and is the dominant risk factor for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Here the authors show that mice overexpressing Muc5b in distal airspaces show impaired mucociliary clearance and increased susceptibility to bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis, and that both characteristics are reduced by treatment with a mucolytic agent.

    • Laura A. Hancock
    • , Corinne E. Hennessy
    •  & David A. Schwartz

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Silica particles induce intereukin-1 (IL-1) response to contribute to lung inflammation, but the underlying mechanism is unclear. Here the authors show that silica induces cell death and release of mitochondria and genomic DNA, which are sensed by STING with or without involving cGAS, respectively, for IL-1 induction and lung inflammation.

    • Sulayman Benmerzoug
    • , Stéphanie Rose
    •  & Valerie F. J. Quesniaux

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Abnormal alveolar development and homeostasis are common features of pulmonary disease. Here the authors show that Myh10 expression is reduced in emphysema patients, and that Myh10 loss of function impairs alveolar formation and lung morphogenesis via upregulation of matrix metalloproteinase activity and altered matrix remodeling.

    • Hyun-Taek Kim
    • , Wenguang Yin
    •  & Didier Y. R. Stainier

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Acute bronchoconstriction is the leading cause of asthmatic sudden death following allergen exposure. The authors show that the systemic increase of LPA following inhaled allergen or bradykinin challenge activates the carotid bodies through TRPV1 and LPA-specific receptors and that systemic TRPV1 and LPA-specific receptor antagonists ameliorate acute bronchoconstriction.

    • Nicholas G. Jendzjowsky
    • , Arijit Roy
    •  & Richard J. A. Wilson

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Gut microbial dysbiosis in infancy is associated with childhood atopy and the development of asthma. Here, the authors show that gut microbiota perturbation is evident in the very earliest stages of postnatal life, continues throughout infancy, and can be partially rescued by Lactobacillus supplementation in high-risk for asthma infants.

    • Juliana Durack
    • , Nikole E. Kimes
    •  & Susan V. Lynch

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Malignant pleural effusion (MPE) is a life-threatening cancer-related disorder. Here, the authors show that KRAS-mutant tumor cells require IKKα, activated via host-provided IL-1β, to promote MPE development and that co-inhibition of both KRAS and IKKα ameliorates the development of MPE in mouse models.

    • Antonia Marazioti
    • , Ioannis Lilis
    •  & Georgios T. Stathopoulos

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Modulation of airway surface liquid pH has been proposed as a therapy for cystic fibrosis, but whether pH is indeed altered in cystic fibrosis is controversial. Here, the authors develop a novel fibre-optic based pH measurement technology, and show that pH is not altered in children with cystic fibrosis.

    • André Schultz
    • , Ramaa Puvvadi
    •  & Stephen M. Stick

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Hyperoxia contributes to lung injury in bronchopulmonary dysplasia. The authors show that hyperoxia increases miR-34a expression in human neonates and in mouse models, and that pathology is ameliorated by miR-34a inhibition or by administration of its target angiopoietin-1

    • Mansoor Syed
    • , Pragnya Das
    •  & Vineet Bhandari

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Cystic fibrosis is caused by mutations in the CFTR chloride channel, leading to reduced airway surface liquid secretion. Here the authors show that exposure to bacteria triggers secretion in wild-type but not in pig models of cystic fibrosis, suggesting an impaired response to pathogens contributes to infection.

    • Xiaojie Luan
    • , George Belev
    •  & Juan P. Ianowski

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Respiratory syncytial virus causes lung infections in children, immunocompromised adults, and in the elderly. Here the authors show that a chemical inhibitor to a viral fusion protein is effective in reducing viral titre and ameliorating infection in rodents and neonatal lambs.

    • Dirk Roymans
    • , Sarhad S Alnajjar
    •  & Anil Koul

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) activates latent TGF-β in the extracellular matrix. Here the authors show that inappropriate activation of latent TGF-β in murine, bovine and human lung by monocyte-produced TSP-1 causes pulmonary hypertension, and that interference with the activation process prevents disease development.

    • Rahul Kumar
    • , Claudia Mickael
    •  & Brian B. Graham

  • Article
    | Open Access

    How NALP7 inflammasome formation is regulated is unclear. Here the authors show that STAMBP prevents lysosomal degradation of NALP7 and present BC-1471 as a potential therapeutic STAMBP inhibitor, showing it can reduce TLR-induced IL-1β production.

    • Joseph S. Bednash
    • , Nathaniel Weathington
    •  & Rama K. Mallampalli

  • Article
    | Open Access

    In patients with cystic fibrosis, IL-9 signalling is increased. The authors describe an inflammatory loop in which IL-9 produced by Th9 cells drives mast cells to produce IL-2, resulting in ILC2 cell activation, and show inhibition of this loop with blocking antibodies to IL-9 in a mouse model of pulmonary infection.

    • Silvia Moretti
    • , Giorgia Renga
    •  & Luigina Romani

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Non-resolving bacterial pneumonia results in lung tissue damage owing to overactive inflammation. Here the authors show that the mitochondrial DAMP cardiolipin contributes to persistent inflammation by SUMOylating PPARγ, which promotes binding of the corepressor NCOR/HDAC3 complex to the IL-10 promoter.

    • Krishnendu Chakraborty
    • , Mahesh Raundhal
    •  & Prabir Ray

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Airway hyperreactivity is driven by type 2 cytokines produced by ILC2 and Th2 cells. Here the authors show that an α7-nicotinic receptor agonist (GTS-21) inhibits ILC2 responses and is therapeutic against Alternaria-induced airway hyperreactivity in a humanized mouse model.

    • Lauriane Galle-Treger
    • , Yuzo Suzuki
    •  & Omid Akbari

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Alcohol abuse is a risk factor for acute respiratory distress syndrome, flooding of the lungs due to compromised barrier function. Here the authors report that alcohol upregulates claudin-5 that is then recruited to tight junctions in alveolar epithelial cells, causing the displacement of claudin-18 from ZO-1 and diminished barrier function.

    • Barbara Schlingmann
    • , Christian E. Overgaard
    •  & Michael Koval

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The mechanisms driving lung inflammation and remodelling in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are incompletely understood. Here the authors show that lack of secretory IgA promotes bacterial invasion in small airways, resulting in leukocyte recruitment and a COPD-like phenotype.

    • Bradley W. Richmond
    • , Robert M. Brucker
    •  & Vasiliy V. Polosukhin

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The human enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) is a causative agent of childhood respiratory infections, but despite its prevalence the exact mechanism mediating its cell entry have not been fully established. Here, the authors show how EV-D68 binds to sialic acid on the cell surface to initiate infection.

    • Yue Liu
    • , Ju Sheng
    •  & Michael G. Rossmann

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Cystic fibrosis imposes a decline in quality of life but new treatments are being developed that target specificCFTRvariants. Here the authors identify five genome loci significantly associated with variation in disease severity in a meta-analysis, which may provide targets for individualized treatment of cystic fibrosis.

    • Harriet Corvol
    • , Scott M. Blackman
    •  & Michael R. Knowles

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Yersinia pestis, which evolved from a gastrointestinal pathogen, causes pneumonic and bubonic plague. Here Zimbler et al. show that the gain of a single protein enabled Y. pestisto first cause pneumonic plague, and one amino-acid change in the same protein then allowed the bacteria to efficiently cause bubonic plague.

    • Daniel L. Zimbler
    • , Jay A. Schroeder
    •  & Wyndham W. Lathem

  • Article |

    Cystic fibrosis is a lethal genetic disorder commonly caused by the F508del mutation which is not amenable to gene therapy. Here, the authors use triplex-forming PNA molecules and donor DNA in biodegradable polymer nanoparticles to correct F508del and achieve clinically relevant levels of gene editing.

    • Nicole Ali McNeer
    • , Kavitha Anandalingam
    •  & Marie E. Egan

  • Article |

    The mechanism of NLRP3 activation remains incompletely characterized. Here the authors show that it is dependent on vimentin, and that NLRP3-mediated lung injury and fibrosis induced by endotoxin, asbestos or bleomycin are reduced in vimentin-deficient mice.

    • Gimena dos Santos
    • , Micah R. Rogel
    •  & Karen M. Ridge

  • Article |

    Airway epithelia from cystic fibrosis patients show an exaggerated inflammatory response to P. aeruginosa. Here, Rimessi et al. show that P. aeruginosa exposure causes augmented Ca2+signalling in the absence of functional CFTR, leading to mitochondrial damage and activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome.

    • Alessandro Rimessi
    • , Valentino Bezzerri
    •  & Paolo Pinton

  • Article |

    The airways of patients with cystic fibrosis are colonized by S. aureus during childhood and by P. aeruginosa in adulthood. Here, Pernet et al. show that P. aeruginosa induces bronchial cells to produce a bactericidal protein sPLA2-IIA that contributes to the decline of S. aureusin the airways.

    • Erwan Pernet
    • , Laurent Guillemot
    •  & Lhousseine Touqui

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