The Pathogenetic Triad of Chronic Airway Diseases—Inflammation, Tissue Destruction, and Airway Remodeling

A special issue of Cells (ISSN 2073-4409). This special issue belongs to the section "Cellular Immunology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 May 2025 | Viewed by 2684

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Internal Medicine V-Pulmonology, Allergology, Respiratory and Environmental Medicine, Saarland University, 66424 Homburg, Germany
Interests: airway diseases
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Division of Lung Immunology, Priority Area Asthma and Allergy, Research Center Borstel-Leibniz Lung Center, 23845 Borstel, Germany
Interests: airway diseases

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma, COPD, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, and cystic fibrosis affect hundreds of millions of people worldwide and are associated with a significant loss of quality of life and high mortality. A significant impairment of lung function is central to these diseases and arises from a pathogenetic triad of chronic inflammation, tissue destruction, and airway remodeling. Since chronic lung diseases cannot be cured and, at best, only their symptoms can be alleviated, it is extremely important to gain further knowledge about the underlying pathomechanisms. New methods such as 3D-organoid cultures, single-cell sequencing, spatial transcriptomics, and single-cell epigenomics have the potential to pave the way for a deeper understanding of chronic lung diseases and the identification of novel therapeutic approaches. 

Here, we would like to offer a platform for preclinical and clinical research results that address the complexity of chronic respiratory diseases. We encourage the submission of original research articles, reviews, or methodological articles dealing with various aspects of airway diseases. Contributions may address, but are not limited to, cellular mechanisms underlying inflammation, tissue destruction, and airway remodeling. Studies with clear translational potential are especially welcome.

Prof. Dr. Christoph Beisswenger
Dr. Michael Wegmann
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • chronic lung disease
  • inflammation
  • signaling pathway
  • disease models
  • tissue destruction
  • airway remodeling
  • epigenetics

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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22 pages, 6626 KiB  
Article
Airspace Diameter Map—A Quantitative Measurement of All Pulmonary Airspaces to Characterize Structural Lung Diseases
by Sanja Blaskovic, Pinelopi Anagnostopoulou, Elena Borisova, Dominik Schittny, Yves Donati, David Haberthür, Zhe Zhou-Suckow, Marcus A. Mall, Christian M. Schlepütz, Marco Stampanoni, Constance Barazzone-Argiroffo and Johannes C. Schittny
Cells 2023, 12(19), 2375; https://doi.org/10.3390/cells12192375 - 28 Sep 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1911
Abstract
(1) Background: Stereological estimations significantly contributed to our understanding of lung anatomy and physiology. Taking stereology fully 3-dimensional facilitates the estimation of novel parameters. (2) Methods: We developed a protocol for the analysis of all airspaces of an entire lung. It includes (i) [...] Read more.
(1) Background: Stereological estimations significantly contributed to our understanding of lung anatomy and physiology. Taking stereology fully 3-dimensional facilitates the estimation of novel parameters. (2) Methods: We developed a protocol for the analysis of all airspaces of an entire lung. It includes (i) high-resolution synchrotron radiation-based X-ray tomographic microscopy, (ii) image segmentation using the free machine-learning tool Ilastik and ImageJ, and (iii) calculation of the airspace diameter distribution using a diameter map function. To evaluate the new pipeline, lungs from adult mice with cystic fibrosis (CF)-like lung disease (βENaC-transgenic mice) or mice with elastase-induced emphysema were compared to healthy controls. (3) Results: We were able to show the distribution of airspace diameters throughout the entire lung, as well as separately for the conducting airways and the gas exchange area. In the pathobiological context, we observed an irregular widening of parenchymal airspaces in mice with CF-like lung disease and elastase-induced emphysema. Comparable results were obtained when analyzing lungs imaged with μCT, sugges-ting that our pipeline is applicable to different kinds of imaging modalities. (4) Conclusions: We conclude that the airspace diameter map is well suited for a detailed analysis of unevenly distri-buted structural alterations in chronic muco-obstructive lung diseases such as cystic fibrosis and COPD. Full article
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Review

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17 pages, 728 KiB  
Review
Role of Epigenetics in Chronic Lung Disease
by Felix Ritzmann, Michelle Brand, Robert Bals, Michael Wegmann and Christoph Beisswenger
Cells 2025, 14(4), 251; https://doi.org/10.3390/cells14040251 - 10 Feb 2025
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Abstract
Epigenetics regulates gene expression and thus cellular processes that underlie the pathogenesis of chronic lung diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Environmental factors (e.g., air pollution, smoking, infections, poverty), but also conditions such as gastroesophageal [...] Read more.
Epigenetics regulates gene expression and thus cellular processes that underlie the pathogenesis of chronic lung diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Environmental factors (e.g., air pollution, smoking, infections, poverty), but also conditions such as gastroesophageal reflux, induce epigenetic changes long before lung disease is diagnosed. Therefore, epigenetic signatures have the potential to serve as biomarkers that can be used to identify younger patients who are at risk for premature loss of lung function or diseases such as IPF. Epigenetic analyses also contribute to a better understanding of chronic lung disease. This can be used directly to improve therapies, as well as for the development of innovative drugs. Here, we highlight the role of epigenetics in the development and progression of chronic lung disease, with a focus on DNA methylation. Full article
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