Acute exacerbations are common during chronic lung diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, and fibrotic lung disease. They often align with events of bronchoconstriction or pulmonary infection, ultimately resulting in persistent decline of lung function (1). During COPD exacerbations, bronchoconstriction and mechanical stress lead to distal lung inflammation, dyspnea, further disruption of lung architecture, and development of emphysema (2). COPD is a debilitating inflammator

Asthma is one of the most prevalent pulmonary diseases in the world, affecting more than 350 million people (1). It is characterized by chronic inflammation and bronchospasm of airway smooth muscle in response to environmental triggers. Recurrent exacerbations result in narrowing of the airways and increase in airway resistance. As a result of airway bronchospasm and constriction, the cells abutting the airway lumen are mechanically compressed, which activates pathways involved in pathologic airway

Asthma is a highly heterogeneous disease, and deciphering its underlying molecular mechanisms is critical to advancing precision medicine (1). Recent studies have shifted focus from the definition of asthma phenotypes (e.g., obesity-related asthma) to identifying more focused asthma endotypes with underlying molecular signatures (2). By using omics data (e.g., gene expression), recent studies have made it increasingly possible to identify unique mol ecular profiles for different clusters of patients with

Airway epithelial cells (AECs) play an essential role in the immune response during bacterial pneumonia. Secreted and transmembrane 1a (Sectm1a) is specifically expressed in AECs during early Strep…

Pneumonia is a leading infectious disease cause of death in young children and older adults worldwide. Streptococcus pneumoniae is a common bacterial species isolated from lungs of patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) (1 – 3). Although the reported relative frequency of S. pneumoniae in CAP etiology has decreased considerably over the past century, largely attributed to the availability of antibiotics and several pneumococcal vaccines (4), pneumococcal pneumonia remains a prominent public

Mutations in the TSC (tuberous sclerosis complex) genes result in the hyperactivation of the mTORC1 (mechanistic/mammalian target of rapamycin 1) growth pathway in mesenchymal pulmonary cells. Rapa…