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Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer

Authors Moghaddam SJ , Ochoa CE, Sethi S, Dickey BF

Published 27 January 2011 Volume 2011:6 Pages 113—123

DOI https://doi.org/10.2147/COPD.S15417

Review by Single anonymous peer review

Peer reviewer comments 3



Seyed Javad Moghaddam1, Cesar E Ochoa1,2, Sanjay Sethi3, Burton F Dickey1,4
1Department of Pulmonary Medicine, the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA; 2Tecnológico de Monterrey School of Medicine, Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico; 3Department of Medicine, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, USA; 4Center for Inflammation and Infection, Institute of Biosciences and Technology, Texas A&M Health Science Center, Houston, TX, USA

Abstract: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is predicted to become the third leading cause of death in the world by 2020. It is characterized by airflow limitation that is not fully reversible. The airflow limitation is usually progressive and associated with an abnormal inflammatory response of the lungs to noxious particles and gases, most commonly cigarette smoke. Among smokers with COPD, even following withdrawal of cigarette smoke, inflammation persists and lung function continues to deteriorate. One possible explanation is that bacterial colonization of smoke-damaged airways, most commonly with nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi), perpetuates airway injury and inflammation. Furthermore, COPD has also been identified as an independent risk factor for lung cancer irrespective of concomitant cigarette smoke exposure. In this article, we review the role of NTHi in airway inflammation that may lead to COPD progression and lung cancer promotion.

Keywords: COPD, NTHi, inflammation

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