ArticleAmerican journal of respiratory and critical care medicine2026
Mucus plugs-associated gene expression identifies pathophysiology shared with chronic bronchitis.
Article in American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Airway mucus plugs in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: pathobiology, imaging, and implications for clinical trials.American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine · 2026Review
- When asthmatic distal airways lose their identity: a new mechanism of mucus plugs pathogenesis.American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine · 2026Article
- Molecular echoes of mucus plugging in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
rationaleMucus plug formation and chronic bronchitis are manifestations of mucus pathology in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Identifying gene expression changes related to mucus pathology could provide insight into its pathogenesis.
objectivesTo investigate gene expression changes in individuals with mucus plugs, identify related biological pathways, and assess whether mucus plug-related gene expression associates with clinical features of other mucus pathologies.
methodsWe studied 290 participants from the Detection of Early Lung Cancer Among Military Personnel 2 study with mainstem bronchial brush bulk RNA-sequencing data (n = 204 discovery, n = 86 validation). We scored mucus plugging based on the number of lung segments with mucus plugs identified on chest computed tomography scans and used correlative analysis to identify differentially expressed genes and examine their association with chronic bronchitis symptoms. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN
resultsSeventy-six participants (37%) in the discovery set had mucus plugs. Differentially expressed genes were broadly epithelial- or immune-related. Epithelial-related genes show decreased expression of genes involved in cilia maintenance and microtubule function and increased expression of genes related to epithelial maintenance and protection. Expression patterns of epithelial-related genes are associated with chronic bronchitis symptoms. Immune-related genes are enriched for innate and adaptive pathways. Expression of immune genes varies by lung function and was more weakly associated with mucus plugs than that of epithelial-related genes. Findings were replicated in an independent validation set.
conclusionSeveral distinct gene expression patterns are linked to the presence of mucus plugs, highlighting biological -pathways involved in mucus pathophysiology. Variability in gene expression suggests a spectrum of mucus pathophysiology contributes to mucus plugs and chronic bronchitis symptoms.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.