Dynamics of inflammatory cell recruitment in a cigarette smoke induced COPD mouse model

Introduction: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by septal tissue damage, remodeling of small airways, airway obstruction, and a subsequent decline in lung function. The disease pathogenesis is related to an abnormal inflammatory response of the lungs to toxic gases and particles, most often cigarette smoke, and increasing evidence suggests that innate (neutrophils and macrophages) and specific immune cells (T and B lymphocytes) are involved in lung tissue damage in COPD (Barnes 2008; Hogg et al. 2004). In this study, we characterized the dynamics of inflammatory cell recruitment after…