Lung transcriptomics reveals the underlying mechanism by which aerobic training enhances pulmonary function in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

• Published in: BMC pulmonary medicine Vol. 24; no. 1; p. 154
• Main Authors: Li, Jian, Chen, Cai-Tao, Li, Peijun, Zhang, Xiaoyun, Liu, Xiaodan, Wu, Weibing, Gu, Wei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 26.03.2024; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Aerobic exercises; Aerobics; Airway management; Biomarkers; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Cigarette smoke; Cigarettes; Diagnosis; Exercise; Exercise training; Fitness equipment; Fitness training programs; Genetic aspects; Health aspects; Intervention; Lung diseases; Lung diseases, Obstructive; Outdoor air quality; Physical fitness; Physical training; Pulmonary function; Quality control; Quality of life; Rehabilitation; Remission; Remission (Medicine); Respiratory function; Running; Structure-function relationships; Transcriptomics; China; Beijing China; United States > US; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Exercise training; Rehabilitation; Pulmonary function; Transcriptomics
• ISSN: 1471-2466; 1471-2466
• DOI: 10.1186/s12890-024-02967-1

Aerobic training is the primary method of rehabilitation for improving respiratory function in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in remission. However, the mechanism underlying this improvement is not yet fully understood. The use of transcriptomics in rehabilitation medicine offers a promising strategy for uncovering the ways in which exercise training improves respiratory dysfunction in COPD patients. In this study, lung tissue was analyzed using transcriptomics to investigate the relationship between exercise and lung changes. Mice were exposed to cigarette smoke for 24 weeks, followed by nine weeks of moderate-intensity treadmill exercise, with a control group for comparison. Pulmonary function and structure were assessed at the end of the intervention and RNA sequencing was performed on the lung tissue. Exercise training was found to improve airway resistance and lung ventilation indices in individuals exposed to cigarette smoke. However, the effect of this treatment on damaged alveoli was weak. The pair-to-pair comparison revealed numerous differentially expressed genes, that were closely linked to inflammation and metabolism. Further research is necessary to confirm the cause-and-effect relationship between the identified biomarkers and the improvement in pulmonary function, as this was not examined in the present study.