Investigation of autoantibodies against human airway epithelial cells in patients with COPD

Cigarette smoking (CS) is associated with numerous human diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and autoimmune disorders. A growing number of evidences suggest that CS-induced autoimmunity is a hallmark of COPD, particularly COPD with emphysema. However, it remains elusive whether CS-induced autoimmune responses contribute to the pathogenesis of COPD.Previously, Feghali-Bostwick CA et al reported that autoantibodies in plasma of COPD patients were capable to induce antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) of human primary pulmonary epithelial cells. Recently, by using a protein microarray assaying more than 19,000 human proteins we determined the autoantibody profiles of COPD and non-COPD smokers. Our results demonstrate that sera of COPD patients are featured by increased levels of autoantibodies against extracellular antigens, supporting the presence of autoantibodies against extracellular antigens of airway epithelial cells. In this project, we hypothesize that autoantibodies against airway epithelial cells are capable to induce damage to the cells and thus contribute to the development of emphysema in COPD. To verify the hypothesis, we plan to determine the association of autoantibodies against human airway epithelial with COPD and emphysema and to investigate the function of those autoantibodies.