{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,10]],"date-time":"2026-01-10T03:16:58Z","timestamp":1768015018860,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":44,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,17]],"date-time":"2025-06-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1750118400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100004257","name":"Helse Vest","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100004257","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS One"],"abstract":"<jats:sec id=\"sec010\">\n<jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>The understanding of inflammation and remodeling in the bronchial wall of COPD patients with varying disease severity remains incomplete.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec id=\"sec011\">\n<jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>35 healthy controls and 47 volunteer COPD patients underwent bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and sampling by endobronchial biopsies in 2014\u20132015 as part of the MicroCOPD Study. Biopsies were embedded in glycol methyl acrylate (GMA) resin and examined by immunohistochemistry and staining for enumeration of CD3\u2009+\u2009, CD4\u2009+\u2009, CD8\u2009+\u2009, CD20\u2009+\u2009, CD68\u2009+\u2009, EG2\u2009+\u2009, and NE+ inflammatory cells, as well as endothelial cells (EN4) and smooth muscle actin (SMA). Mucus cells were stained by periodic acid-schiff (PAS), and toluidine blue to visualize the reticular basement membrane (RBM).<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec id=\"sec012\">\n<jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>The numbers of macrophages and eosinophils were higher, and vascularity increased in the submucosa in COPD patients compared with healthy controls. In healthy smokers there were lower numbers of lymphocytes (CD3\u2009+, CD4\u2009+, CD8\u2009+, CD20+) than never smokers. However, COPD patients with GOLD I\/II had higher numbers of eosinophils and larger smooth muscle area compared with GOLD III\/IV. COPD exacerbations the last year, blood eosinophils, and use of inhaled corticosteroids did not affect levels of inflammation or remodeling.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec id=\"sec013\">\n<jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>Smoking alters inflammation in healthy controls, while specific patterns of macrophages, eosinophils, and vascularity distinguish COPD from non-COPD in bronchial biopsies.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0326267","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,17]],"date-time":"2025-06-17T17:36:47Z","timestamp":1750181807000},"page":"e0326267","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Inflammatory cells and remodeling in bronchial biopsies from COPD patients and controls"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"20","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8725-9960","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Tomas M.","family":"Eagan","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Rune","family":"Nielsen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ingvild","family":"Haaland","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Gunnar R.","family":"Huseb\u00f8","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Sverre","family":"Lehmann","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jon A.","family":"Ward","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Susan J.","family":"Wilson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"pone.0326267.ref001","author":"Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD)","year":"2023"},{"issue":"12","key":"pone.0326267.ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1128","DOI":"10.1056\/NEJMoa0909883","article-title":"Susceptibility to exacerbation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease","volume":"363","author":"JR Hurst","year":"2010","journal-title":"N Engl J Med"},{"issue":"147","key":"pone.0326267.ref003","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"170103","DOI":"10.1183\/16000617.0103-2017","article-title":"Exacerbations of COPD","volume":"27","author":"C Viniol","year":"2018","journal-title":"Eur Respir Rev"},{"issue":"8","key":"pone.0326267.ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"775","DOI":"10.1056\/NEJMoa063070","article-title":"Salmeterol and fluticasone propionate and survival in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease","volume":"356","author":"PMA Calverley","year":"2007","journal-title":"N Engl J Med"},{"issue":"25","key":"pone.0326267.ref005","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1948","DOI":"10.1056\/NEJM199906243402503","article-title":"Long-term treatment with inhaled budesonide in persons with mild chronic obstructive pulmonary disease who continue smoking. 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