Smoking-induced EGF-dependent Reprogramming of Airway Basal Cell Function

Stopped early

Conditions studied: Smoking, COPD, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

In brief

Early changes associated with the development of smoking-induced diseases, e.g., COPD and lung cancer (the two commonest causes of death in U.S.) are often characterized by abnormal airway epithelial differentiation. Airway basal cells (BC) are stem/progenitor cells necessary for generation of differentiated airway epithelium. Based on our preliminary observations that epidermal growth factor receptor, known to regulate airway epithelial differentiation, is enriched in BC and its ligand EGF is induced by smoking, we hypothesized that smoking-induced EGF alters the ability of BC to form normally differentiated airway epithelium. To test this, airway BC will be purified using a cell-culture method established in our laboratory and responses to EGF will be analyzed using genome-wide microarrays and an in vitro air-liquid interface model of airway epithelial differentiation.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT01974180

Run by

Weill Medical College of Cornell University

People needed

48

Starts

2013-12-03

Expected to finish

2015-04-23

Last updated by the study team

2017-12-26

Who can join

Age: 18 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Must be capable of providing informed consent
• Males and females, age 18 or older
• Good overall health without history of chronic lung disease, including asthma, and without recurrent or recent (within 3 months) acute pulmonary disease
• Normal physical examination
• Normal routine laboratory evaluation, including general hematologic studies, general serologic/ immunologic studies, general biochemical analyses, and urine analysis
• Negative HIV serology
• Normal chest X-ray (PA and lateral)
• Normal electrocardiogram
• Females - not pregnant
• No history of allergies to medications to be used in the bronchoscopy procedure
• Not taking any medications relevant to lung disease or having an effect on the airway epithelium Willingness to participate in the study

You may not qualify if…

• Unable to meet the inclusion criteria
• Pregnancy
• Current active infection or acute illness of any kind
• Current alcohol or drug abuse
• Evidence of malignancy within the past 5 years

Where it is running

• Weill Cornell Medical College and Weill Cornell Medical Center, Department of Genetic Medicine — New York, New York, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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