COPD and non-diseased nasopharyngeal and bronchial organoids characterization by single cell RNA-seq

Clinical COPD, characterised by intermittent and infective exacerbations, lacks cellular model systems for the study of host-pathogen relationships. We establish nasopharyngeal and bronchial organoids from COPD patients and healthy individuals. In contrast to healthy organoids, COPD organoids demonstrate the hallmark goblet cell hyperplasia phenotype with reduced ciliary beat frequency, leading to impaired mucociliary clearance. By single-cell transcriptome analysis, smooth trajectory of cellular differentiation is disrupted in COPD organoids when compared to non-diseased, and functional pathways involved in the development and progression of COPD including mitochondrial dysfunction and sirtuin signalling are activated in the COPD model. Overall design: Characterization of lung organoids derived from healthy and COPD donors for cell population, differentiation process and pathway analysis