COPD Research at University of Colorado Hospital

Researchers in the COPD Center conduct a number of investigations related to the study and diagnosis of chronic obstructive lung diseases. Our research is focused on the following areas:

• Development and validation of novel biomarkers which allow detection and monitoring of progression of the disease and assessment of treatment success or failure.
• Lung tissue based investigation of the gene and protein expression which distinguishes COPD and alpha-a1-antitrypsin deficiency-triggered diseased lungs from normal lung tissue.
• Chronic cigarette smoking changes the lung cell phenotype, causes apoptosis of alveolar structure cells and may ultimately give rise to the development of apoptosis-resistant cells; the spectrum of cellular and molecular alterations are being investigated in interdisciplinary fashion, with the participation of the UCHSC Cancer Center and investigators from the School of Pharmacy.

The pathomechanism of the so-called COPD exacerbation is poorly understood; our group is mounting an effort to focus clinical studies examining bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and lung tissue from patients with acute exacerbations.