Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma are common obstructive lung diseases that affect more than 20% of people worldwide. For largely unknown reasons, there are more women than men with these lung disease conditions after puberty. These lung conditions produce symptoms such as breathlessness, cough, and sputum (phlegm) production. Excess mucus production may be important in the causes of both COPD and asthma by blocking the airways and thereby increasing airway resistance. Clinical studies showed that lung function fluctuates during the menstrual cycle in female asthmatics, implicating the role of sex hormones in enhancing airways disease. Estrogen may directly cause goblet cells to increase in the airway lining of the lungs. More interesting in our mice model, ovariectomized mice showed greater sensitivity in goblet cell production in the airway with estrogen replacement than intact female mice. After we have elucidated a mechanism by which estrogen controls mucus production, therapeutics targets can be made to control excess mucus being produced in pre-menopausal and post-menopausal patients with COPD.