National Jewish Health

Isolation of diverse nontuberculous mycobacteria from Hawai’i feral pigs and identification of Mycobacterium abscessus subsp. bolletii

Abstract Background Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are environmentally acquired opportunistic pathogens that can cause recalcitrant pulmonary disease, particularly in susceptible individuals. Hawai’i has a high incidence of NTM infections, meriting a better understanding of th...

Radiologist and AI performance in detecting mucus plugs on chest CT

Abstract Objectives To compare automated mucus plug detection with radiologist evaluation, assess AI-assisted detection, and examine associations of algorithm-derived airway obstruction burden with COPD severity. Materials and methods This retrospective analysis included 278 COPD...

Tobramycin enhances Mycobacterium abscessus fitness through whiB7 induction

Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are opportunistic pathogens that cause pulmonary disease (PD) in people with bronchiectasis and other chronic airway diseases. Difficulty treating and eradicating NTM-PD highlights the need for improved understanding of bacterial mechanisms to es...

Sexually Dimorphic Role of Estrogen Receptor α in Preserving Right Ventricular Endothelial Integrity

Abstract Right ventricular (RV) function and adaptation to afterload increase determine survival in pulmonary hypertension (PH). RV adaptation in PH is sexually dimorphic and more preserved in females, mediated by protective estrogen receptor α (ERα) signaling in cardiomyocytes....

Omic risk scores are associated with COPD-related traits across three cohorts

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exhibits marked heterogeneity in lung function decline, mortality, exacerbations, and other disease-related outcomes. Omic risk scores (ORS) estimate the cumulative contribution of omics, such as the transcriptome, proteome...

Incidence of New Malignancies in Severe Asthma: Comparison of Real-World Patients Treated with Benralizumab, Other Biologics, or Non-biologics

Clinical trials report no increased malignancy risk with benralizumab in severe asthma; however, trial populations are highly selective. To better define real-world safety, malignancy risk was compared among patients treated with benralizumab, other (non-benralizumab) biologics,...

Metabolomic profiling reveals distinct and shared biology in COPD and IPF

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary disease (COPD) and Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) are chronic pulmonary disorders with distinct pathologies but shared risk factors. Metabolomics may provide insights into mechanisms. To identify metabolites associated with COPD and IPF, and to...

Quantitative computed tomography improves prediction of survival across ILD subtypes

Background Quantitative computed tomography (CT) methods are recognized as valuable tools for risk stratification in fibrotic interstitial lung disease (ILD). Data-driven textural analysis (DTA) is one such approach that correlates with worse lung function and shorter survival in...