Smoking fruit flies – Impact of cigarette smoke exposure on the airway epithelium of Drosophila melanogaster

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and coronary artery disease (CAD) are global epidemics with overlapping mechanisms and pathophysiologic processes. Cigarette smoking is their common major risk factor and the possibility that they are associated in the same patient is very high. Recent studies strongly suggest that CAD is common in COPD patients. However, our knowledge about the underlying molecular framework linking COPD and CAD is still fragmentary. Herein, we introduce Drosophila melanogaster, as a highly attractive model for basic COPD/CAD research. The fruit fly consists of a primitive vascular s…