AIM: To determine the pattern of secreted mucin expression in Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori)-related, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)-related and idiopathic gastric ulcers. METHODS: We randomly selected 9...AIM: To determine the pattern of secreted mucin expression in Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori)-related, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)-related and idiopathic gastric ulcers. METHODS: We randomly selected 92 patients with H. pylori-associated (n = 30), NSAID-associated (n = 18), combined H. pylori and NSAID-associated gastric ulcers (n = 24), and patients with idiopathic gastric ulcers (n = 20). Immunohistochemistry for T-cell CD4/CD8, andfor mucin 5AC (MUC5AC) and mucin 6 (MUC6), was performed on sections of the mucosa from the ulcer margin. Inflammation score was assessed according to the Sydney system. RESULTS: MUC5AC was expressed on the surface epithelium (98.9%) and neck glands (98.9%) with minimal expression in the deep glands (6.5%). MUC6 was strongly expressed in the deep glands (97.8%), variable in the neck glands (19.6%) and absent in the surface epithelium (0%). The pattern of mucin expression in idiopathic ulcer margins was not different from the expression in ulcers associated with H. pylori, NSAIDs, or combined H. pylori and NSAIDs. CD4/CD8 ratio was higher in H. pylori-positive patients (P = 0.009). Idiopathic ulcers are associated with hospitalized patients and have higher bleeding and mortality rates. CONCLUSION: Idiopathic ulcers have a unique clinical profile. Gastric mucin expression in idiopathic gastric ulcers is unchanged compared with H. pylori and/or NSAID-associated ulcers.展开更多
Objective:Qingfei oral liquid(QF),an experimental Chinese medicine prescription developed from the ancient priscription of traditional Chinese medicines Ma Xin Shi Gan decoction and Tingli Dazao Xie Fei decoction,has ...Objective:Qingfei oral liquid(QF),an experimental Chinese medicine prescription developed from the ancient priscription of traditional Chinese medicines Ma Xin Shi Gan decoction and Tingli Dazao Xie Fei decoction,has been effectively used since decades to treat patients with viral pneumonia and asthma.In our previous study,we had demonstrated that QF can significantly reduce airway hyperresponsiveness,hyperemia,lung tissue edema,inflammatory lung tissue infiltration in mice,airway mucus secretion,and peripheral airway collagen hyperplasia;however,its mechanism of action is unknown.Methods:Fifty 6–8-week-old male BALB/c mice were equally and randomly divided into five groups:the control,ovalbumin(OVA),OVA+respiratory syncytial virus(RSV),QF,and dexamethasone(Dxms)groups.The QF group was administered QF at 1.17 g·kg−1·d−1,the Dxms group received dexamethasone injections at 0.2 mg·kg−1·d−1,and the remaining groups were administered PBS.Inflammation in the lung tissue was assessed by hematoxylin and eosin(HE),periodic acid–Schiff(PAS),and Van Gieson staining.ELISA was used to evaluate the IL-13,IL-25,and IL-33 in the mice.Western blotting was used to examine changes in the proteins levels of transient receptor potential vanilloid-1(TRPV1)and mucin 5AC(MUC5AC)in the lung tissues of mice.Results:Histopathological evaluation revealed that the OVA and OVA+RSV groups exhibited lung tissue edema and inflammatory lung tissue infiltration in the HE staining and airway secretions in the PAS staining;collagen hyperplasia around the airway was increased in these two groups compared with the control group.The QF group exhibited significantly reduced lung tissue edema,inflammatory lung tissue infiltration,airway secretions,and collagen hyperplasia around the airway compared with the OVA+RSV group.We analyzed the serum levels of IL-13,IL-25,and IL-33 in the mice and found that these levels were higher in the OVA and OVA+RSV groups than in the control group(P<0.05 in the OVA group,P<0.01 in the OVA+RSV group).The QF group exhibited significantly decreased serum levels of IL-13,IL-25,and IL-33 compared with the OVA+RSV group(all P<0.05).The Dxms group also exhibited significant decreases in the serum levels of IL-13 and IL-33(all P<0.05)but no significant decrease in the serum levels of IL-25 compared with the RSV+OVA group.Finally,we examined the protein levels of TRPV1 and MUC5AC in the lung tissues of mice using Western blotting.After identifying RSV infection in the mice with asthma,the protein levels of TRPV1 and MUC5AC in the lung tissues of mice were significantly higher than those in the control group(P<0.05,P<0.01).We found that compared with RSV+OVA,QF can significantly downregulate the protein level of TRPV1;further,the protein level of MUC5AC was also significantly reduced(all P<0.001).Conclusion:QF can inhibit RSV replication and reduce airway inflammation and mucus hypersecretion injury caused by RSV infection and asthma,and its mechanism of action may be associated with the downregulation of TRPV1 expression and a decrease in airway mucus hypersecretion injury.展开更多
Objective： To observe the effect of electroacupuncture （EA） on the expressions of acetylcholine （ACh） and mucin 5AC （MUC5AC） in the lungs of rats with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease （COPD）, and explore...Objective： To observe the effect of electroacupuncture （EA） on the expressions of acetylcholine （ACh） and mucin 5AC （MUC5AC） in the lungs of rats with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease （COPD）, and explore the mechanism of EA in treating COPD. Methods： Thirty Sprague-Dawley （SD） rats were randomly divided into a control group, a COPD group, and an EA group, with 10 rats in each group. The control group was a group of normal rats. The COPD rat model was induced by cigarette smoke combined with lipopolysaccharide （LPS）. The COPD rats were treated with EA at bilateral Feishu （BL 13） and Zusanli （ST 36） in the EA group, 30 rain each time, once a day, successively for 14 d. The lung function was tested. The contents of ACh and MUC5AC in lungs and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid （BALF） were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. Pearson method was used to analyze the correlation between pulmonary function and the content of MUC5AC in lungs. The mRNA and protein expressions of MUC5AC in lung tissues were detected by real-time polymerase chain reaction （RT-PCR） and Western blot （WB）, respectively. The immune response of MUC5AC was observed by immunohistochemistry. Results： Eight rats were left in each group, and the other two died. Compared with the control group, the total airway resistance （Raw） increased significantly and dynamic compliance （Cdyn） decreased significantly in the COPD group （P〈0.01）; compared with the COPD group, the Raw level declined significantly and Cdyn increased significantly in the EA group （P〈0.01）. The contents of ACh and MUC5AC in the lungs and BALF were remarkably higher in the COPD group compared with those in the control group （P〈0.01, P〈0.001）; compared with the COPD group, the contents of ACh and MUC5AC were significantly lower in the EA group （P〈0.05, P〈0.001）. There was a negative correlation between MUC5AC content and lung function （P〈0.001）. The mRNA and protein expressions of MUC5AC in the lungs were significantly higher in the COPD group than in the control group （P〈0.001）; compared with the COPD group, the expressions were significantly lower in the EA group （P〈0.01）. Compared with the control group, the immune response of MUC5AC in the airway epithelium significantly increased in the COPD group （P〈0.001）; the immune response of MUC5AC was significantly lower in the EA group compared with that in the COPD group （P〈0.001）. Conclusion： EA treatment can improve the lung function of COPD rats, which may be related to its effect in the down-regulation of ACh and MUC5AC contents in the lungs as well as the inhibition of mucus hypersecretion.展开更多
Background： Excess mucus production is an important pathophysiological feature of chronic inflammatory airway diseases. Effective therapies are currently lacking. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effects ofcu...Background： Excess mucus production is an important pathophysiological feature of chronic inflammatory airway diseases. Effective therapies are currently lacking. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effects ofcurcumin （CUR） on lipopolysaccharide （LPS）-induced mucus secretion and inflammation, and explored the underlying mechanism in vivo and in vitro. Methods： For the in vitro study, human bronchial epithelial （NCI-H292） cells were pretreated with CUR or vehicle for 30 min, and then exposed to LPS for 24 h. Next, nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 （Nrf2） was knocked down with Nrf2 small interfering RNA （siRNA） to confirm the specific role of Nrf2 in mucin regulation of CUR in NCI-H292 cells. In vivo, C57BL/6 mice were randomly assigned to three groups （n = 7 for each group）： control group, LPS group, and LPS ＋ CUR group. Mice in LPS and LPS ＋ CUR group were injected with saline or CUR （50 mg/kg） intraperitoneally 2 h before intratracheal instillation with LPS （ 100 μg/ml） for 7 days. Cell lysate and lung tissue were obtained to measured Mucin 5AC （MUC5AC） and Nrf2 mRNA and protein expression by a real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid （BALF） was collected to enumerate total cells and neutrophils. HistopathologicaI changes of the lung were observed. Data were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance. Student＇s t-test was used when two groups were compared. Results： CUR significantly decreased the expression ofMUC5AC mRNA and protein in NCI-H292 cells exposed to LPS. This effect was dose dependent （2.424 ± 0.318 vs. 7.169 ± 1.785, t = 4.534, and 1.060 ± 0.197 vs. 2.340 ± 0.209, t = 7.716; both P 〈 0.05, respectively） and accompanied by increased mRNA and protein expression of Nrf2 （1.952 ± 0.340 vs. 1.142 ± 0.176, t = -3.661, and 2.010 ± 0.209 vs. 1.089 ±0. 132, t = -6.453; both P 〈 0.05, respectively）. Furthermore, knockdown of Nrf2 with siRNA increased MUC5A C mRN A expression by 47.7%, compared with levels observed in the siRNA-negative group （6.845 ± 1.478 vs. 3.391 ± 0.517, t = -3.821, P 〈 0.05）. Knockdown of Nrf2 with siRNA also markedly increased MUC5A C protein expression in NCI-H292 cells. CUR also significantly decreased LPS-induced mRNA and protein expression of MUC5A C in mouse lung （ 1.672 ± 0.721 vs. 5.961 ± 2.452, t = 2.906, and 0.480 ± 0.191 vs. 2.290 ± 0.834, t = 3.665, respectively; both P 〈 0.05）. Alcian blue/periodic acid-Schiff staining also showed that CUR suppressed mucin production. Compared with the LPS group, the numbers of inflammatory cells （247 ± 30 vs. 334 ± 24, t = 3.901, P 〈 0.05） and neutrophils （185 ± 22 vs. 246 ± 20, t = 3.566, P 〈 0.05） in BALF decreased in the LPS ＋ CUR group, as well as reduced inflammatory cell infiltration in lung tissue. Conclusion： CUR inhibits LPS-induced airway mucus hypersecretion and inflammation through activation of Nrf2 possibly.展开更多
Background Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease （COPD） is usually complicated with mucus overproduction in airway. Recently the increased expression of the human calcium-activated chloride channel 1 （CaCC1） was f...Background Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease （COPD） is usually complicated with mucus overproduction in airway. Recently the increased expression of the human calcium-activated chloride channel 1 （CaCC1） was found to play an important role in mucus overproduction in the asthmatic airways. To investigate the relationship of CaCC1 and mucus overproduction in the airway of Chinese patients with COPD, the expressions of CaCC1, MUC5AC and mucus in bronchial tissues were examined. Methods Bronchial tissues were obtained from fiberoptic bronchoscopy and bronchial biopsy in West China Hospital from April to July in 2004. Twenty-five patients were diagnosed as the patients with COPD overproduction, and other 20 were the control subjects. The expressions of CaCC1, MUC5AC and mucin in bronchial tissues were detected by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction （RT-PCR）, in situ hybridization with digoxigenin （DIG）-Iabeled RNA probe, immunohistochemical and alcian blue-periodic acid Schiff （AB-PAS） staining, respectively. Results Compared with the control group, the stronger expressions of CaCC1 were further detected throughout the bronchial tissues from patients with COPD （P〈0.01）. Furthermore, the stronger expressions of the CaCC1 mRNA were related to the severity of airflow obstruction. Samples from COPD showed a stronger staining for MUC5AC than those in control subjects （P〈0.01） and AB-PAS staining revealed more mucins in COPD patients＇ submucosal gland comparing with that in control subjects （P〈0.01）. Expression levels of the CaCC1 mRNA were respectively negatively correlated with the patients＇ forced expiratory volume in one second （FEV~） / forced vital capacity （FVC） data, FEV1% predicted data, V50% predicted data, V25% predicted data （r=-0.43, r=-0.43, r=-0.35, r=-0.36, P〈0.01, P〈0.01, P〈0.05, P〈0.05）. While the expression levels of the CaCC1 mRNA were well correlated with the expression levels of the MUC5AC mRNA of airway epithelium and the PAS-AB stained area of submucosal glands （r=0.39, r=0.46, P〈0.05, P〈0.01）. Expression levels of the MUC5AC mRNA were negatively correlated with the patients＇ FEV1/FVC data （P=0.01）, FEV1% pred data （P=-0.01）, V50% predicted data, V25% predicted data（r=-0.53, r=-0.53, r=-0.48, r=-0.43, P〈0.01, P〈0.01, P〈0.01, P〈0.01）. While the expression levels of the MUC5AC mRNA were well correlated with the positively PAS-AB stained area of submucosal gland （P〈0.05）, and the correlation coefficients were 0.43. Conclusion These results suggest that the stronger gene expression of CaCC1 exists, complicated with mucus overproduction in the airwav of Chinese patients with COPD.展开更多
基金Beilinson Hospital Gastroenterology Department Trust Fund
文摘AIM: To determine the pattern of secreted mucin expression in Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori)-related, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)-related and idiopathic gastric ulcers. METHODS: We randomly selected 92 patients with H. pylori-associated (n = 30), NSAID-associated (n = 18), combined H. pylori and NSAID-associated gastric ulcers (n = 24), and patients with idiopathic gastric ulcers (n = 20). Immunohistochemistry for T-cell CD4/CD8, andfor mucin 5AC (MUC5AC) and mucin 6 (MUC6), was performed on sections of the mucosa from the ulcer margin. Inflammation score was assessed according to the Sydney system. RESULTS: MUC5AC was expressed on the surface epithelium (98.9%) and neck glands (98.9%) with minimal expression in the deep glands (6.5%). MUC6 was strongly expressed in the deep glands (97.8%), variable in the neck glands (19.6%) and absent in the surface epithelium (0%). The pattern of mucin expression in idiopathic ulcer margins was not different from the expression in ulcers associated with H. pylori, NSAIDs, or combined H. pylori and NSAIDs. CD4/CD8 ratio was higher in H. pylori-positive patients (P = 0.009). Idiopathic ulcers are associated with hospitalized patients and have higher bleeding and mortality rates. CONCLUSION: Idiopathic ulcers have a unique clinical profile. Gastric mucin expression in idiopathic gastric ulcers is unchanged compared with H. pylori and/or NSAID-associated ulcers.
基金This work was supported by Natural Science Foundation of China(81674020).
文摘Objective:Qingfei oral liquid(QF),an experimental Chinese medicine prescription developed from the ancient priscription of traditional Chinese medicines Ma Xin Shi Gan decoction and Tingli Dazao Xie Fei decoction,has been effectively used since decades to treat patients with viral pneumonia and asthma.In our previous study,we had demonstrated that QF can significantly reduce airway hyperresponsiveness,hyperemia,lung tissue edema,inflammatory lung tissue infiltration in mice,airway mucus secretion,and peripheral airway collagen hyperplasia;however,its mechanism of action is unknown.Methods:Fifty 6–8-week-old male BALB/c mice were equally and randomly divided into five groups:the control,ovalbumin(OVA),OVA+respiratory syncytial virus(RSV),QF,and dexamethasone(Dxms)groups.The QF group was administered QF at 1.17 g·kg−1·d−1,the Dxms group received dexamethasone injections at 0.2 mg·kg−1·d−1,and the remaining groups were administered PBS.Inflammation in the lung tissue was assessed by hematoxylin and eosin(HE),periodic acid–Schiff(PAS),and Van Gieson staining.ELISA was used to evaluate the IL-13,IL-25,and IL-33 in the mice.Western blotting was used to examine changes in the proteins levels of transient receptor potential vanilloid-1(TRPV1)and mucin 5AC(MUC5AC)in the lung tissues of mice.Results:Histopathological evaluation revealed that the OVA and OVA+RSV groups exhibited lung tissue edema and inflammatory lung tissue infiltration in the HE staining and airway secretions in the PAS staining;collagen hyperplasia around the airway was increased in these two groups compared with the control group.The QF group exhibited significantly reduced lung tissue edema,inflammatory lung tissue infiltration,airway secretions,and collagen hyperplasia around the airway compared with the OVA+RSV group.We analyzed the serum levels of IL-13,IL-25,and IL-33 in the mice and found that these levels were higher in the OVA and OVA+RSV groups than in the control group(P<0.05 in the OVA group,P<0.01 in the OVA+RSV group).The QF group exhibited significantly decreased serum levels of IL-13,IL-25,and IL-33 compared with the OVA+RSV group(all P<0.05).The Dxms group also exhibited significant decreases in the serum levels of IL-13 and IL-33(all P<0.05)but no significant decrease in the serum levels of IL-25 compared with the RSV+OVA group.Finally,we examined the protein levels of TRPV1 and MUC5AC in the lung tissues of mice using Western blotting.After identifying RSV infection in the mice with asthma,the protein levels of TRPV1 and MUC5AC in the lung tissues of mice were significantly higher than those in the control group(P<0.05,P<0.01).We found that compared with RSV+OVA,QF can significantly downregulate the protein level of TRPV1;further,the protein level of MUC5AC was also significantly reduced(all P<0.001).Conclusion:QF can inhibit RSV replication and reduce airway inflammation and mucus hypersecretion injury caused by RSV infection and asthma,and its mechanism of action may be associated with the downregulation of TRPV1 expression and a decrease in airway mucus hypersecretion injury.
文摘Objective： To observe the effect of electroacupuncture （EA） on the expressions of acetylcholine （ACh） and mucin 5AC （MUC5AC） in the lungs of rats with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease （COPD）, and explore the mechanism of EA in treating COPD. Methods： Thirty Sprague-Dawley （SD） rats were randomly divided into a control group, a COPD group, and an EA group, with 10 rats in each group. The control group was a group of normal rats. The COPD rat model was induced by cigarette smoke combined with lipopolysaccharide （LPS）. The COPD rats were treated with EA at bilateral Feishu （BL 13） and Zusanli （ST 36） in the EA group, 30 rain each time, once a day, successively for 14 d. The lung function was tested. The contents of ACh and MUC5AC in lungs and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid （BALF） were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. Pearson method was used to analyze the correlation between pulmonary function and the content of MUC5AC in lungs. The mRNA and protein expressions of MUC5AC in lung tissues were detected by real-time polymerase chain reaction （RT-PCR） and Western blot （WB）, respectively. The immune response of MUC5AC was observed by immunohistochemistry. Results： Eight rats were left in each group, and the other two died. Compared with the control group, the total airway resistance （Raw） increased significantly and dynamic compliance （Cdyn） decreased significantly in the COPD group （P〈0.01）; compared with the COPD group, the Raw level declined significantly and Cdyn increased significantly in the EA group （P〈0.01）. The contents of ACh and MUC5AC in the lungs and BALF were remarkably higher in the COPD group compared with those in the control group （P〈0.01, P〈0.001）; compared with the COPD group, the contents of ACh and MUC5AC were significantly lower in the EA group （P〈0.05, P〈0.001）. There was a negative correlation between MUC5AC content and lung function （P〈0.001）. The mRNA and protein expressions of MUC5AC in the lungs were significantly higher in the COPD group than in the control group （P〈0.001）; compared with the COPD group, the expressions were significantly lower in the EA group （P〈0.01）. Compared with the control group, the immune response of MUC5AC in the airway epithelium significantly increased in the COPD group （P〈0.001）; the immune response of MUC5AC was significantly lower in the EA group compared with that in the COPD group （P〈0.001）. Conclusion： EA treatment can improve the lung function of COPD rats, which may be related to its effect in the down-regulation of ACh and MUC5AC contents in the lungs as well as the inhibition of mucus hypersecretion.
文摘Background： Excess mucus production is an important pathophysiological feature of chronic inflammatory airway diseases. Effective therapies are currently lacking. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effects ofcurcumin （CUR） on lipopolysaccharide （LPS）-induced mucus secretion and inflammation, and explored the underlying mechanism in vivo and in vitro. Methods： For the in vitro study, human bronchial epithelial （NCI-H292） cells were pretreated with CUR or vehicle for 30 min, and then exposed to LPS for 24 h. Next, nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 （Nrf2） was knocked down with Nrf2 small interfering RNA （siRNA） to confirm the specific role of Nrf2 in mucin regulation of CUR in NCI-H292 cells. In vivo, C57BL/6 mice were randomly assigned to three groups （n = 7 for each group）： control group, LPS group, and LPS ＋ CUR group. Mice in LPS and LPS ＋ CUR group were injected with saline or CUR （50 mg/kg） intraperitoneally 2 h before intratracheal instillation with LPS （ 100 μg/ml） for 7 days. Cell lysate and lung tissue were obtained to measured Mucin 5AC （MUC5AC） and Nrf2 mRNA and protein expression by a real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid （BALF） was collected to enumerate total cells and neutrophils. HistopathologicaI changes of the lung were observed. Data were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance. Student＇s t-test was used when two groups were compared. Results： CUR significantly decreased the expression ofMUC5AC mRNA and protein in NCI-H292 cells exposed to LPS. This effect was dose dependent （2.424 ± 0.318 vs. 7.169 ± 1.785, t = 4.534, and 1.060 ± 0.197 vs. 2.340 ± 0.209, t = 7.716; both P 〈 0.05, respectively） and accompanied by increased mRNA and protein expression of Nrf2 （1.952 ± 0.340 vs. 1.142 ± 0.176, t = -3.661, and 2.010 ± 0.209 vs. 1.089 ±0. 132, t = -6.453; both P 〈 0.05, respectively）. Furthermore, knockdown of Nrf2 with siRNA increased MUC5A C mRN A expression by 47.7%, compared with levels observed in the siRNA-negative group （6.845 ± 1.478 vs. 3.391 ± 0.517, t = -3.821, P 〈 0.05）. Knockdown of Nrf2 with siRNA also markedly increased MUC5A C protein expression in NCI-H292 cells. CUR also significantly decreased LPS-induced mRNA and protein expression of MUC5A C in mouse lung （ 1.672 ± 0.721 vs. 5.961 ± 2.452, t = 2.906, and 0.480 ± 0.191 vs. 2.290 ± 0.834, t = 3.665, respectively; both P 〈 0.05）. Alcian blue/periodic acid-Schiff staining also showed that CUR suppressed mucin production. Compared with the LPS group, the numbers of inflammatory cells （247 ± 30 vs. 334 ± 24, t = 3.901, P 〈 0.05） and neutrophils （185 ± 22 vs. 246 ± 20, t = 3.566, P 〈 0.05） in BALF decreased in the LPS ＋ CUR group, as well as reduced inflammatory cell infiltration in lung tissue. Conclusion： CUR inhibits LPS-induced airway mucus hypersecretion and inflammation through activation of Nrf2 possibly.
基金the grants from Natural Science Foundation of China and from China Medical Board of New York to Dr. F.Q. Wen(No.30425007,30370627,00-722,06-838)
文摘Background Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease （COPD） is usually complicated with mucus overproduction in airway. Recently the increased expression of the human calcium-activated chloride channel 1 （CaCC1） was found to play an important role in mucus overproduction in the asthmatic airways. To investigate the relationship of CaCC1 and mucus overproduction in the airway of Chinese patients with COPD, the expressions of CaCC1, MUC5AC and mucus in bronchial tissues were examined. Methods Bronchial tissues were obtained from fiberoptic bronchoscopy and bronchial biopsy in West China Hospital from April to July in 2004. Twenty-five patients were diagnosed as the patients with COPD overproduction, and other 20 were the control subjects. The expressions of CaCC1, MUC5AC and mucin in bronchial tissues were detected by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction （RT-PCR）, in situ hybridization with digoxigenin （DIG）-Iabeled RNA probe, immunohistochemical and alcian blue-periodic acid Schiff （AB-PAS） staining, respectively. Results Compared with the control group, the stronger expressions of CaCC1 were further detected throughout the bronchial tissues from patients with COPD （P〈0.01）. Furthermore, the stronger expressions of the CaCC1 mRNA were related to the severity of airflow obstruction. Samples from COPD showed a stronger staining for MUC5AC than those in control subjects （P〈0.01） and AB-PAS staining revealed more mucins in COPD patients＇ submucosal gland comparing with that in control subjects （P〈0.01）. Expression levels of the CaCC1 mRNA were respectively negatively correlated with the patients＇ forced expiratory volume in one second （FEV~） / forced vital capacity （FVC） data, FEV1% predicted data, V50% predicted data, V25% predicted data （r=-0.43, r=-0.43, r=-0.35, r=-0.36, P〈0.01, P〈0.01, P〈0.05, P〈0.05）. While the expression levels of the CaCC1 mRNA were well correlated with the expression levels of the MUC5AC mRNA of airway epithelium and the PAS-AB stained area of submucosal glands （r=0.39, r=0.46, P〈0.05, P〈0.01）. Expression levels of the MUC5AC mRNA were negatively correlated with the patients＇ FEV1/FVC data （P=0.01）, FEV1% pred data （P=-0.01）, V50% predicted data, V25% predicted data（r=-0.53, r=-0.53, r=-0.48, r=-0.43, P〈0.01, P〈0.01, P〈0.01, P〈0.01）. While the expression levels of the MUC5AC mRNA were well correlated with the positively PAS-AB stained area of submucosal gland （P〈0.05）, and the correlation coefficients were 0.43. Conclusion These results suggest that the stronger gene expression of CaCC1 exists, complicated with mucus overproduction in the airwav of Chinese patients with COPD.
