Washington University, St. Louis

Principal Investigator: Jeffrey Atkinson (jjatkins@dom.wustl.edu)
Co-Principal Investigator: Rachel Presti (rpresti@dom.wustl.edu)

Abstract
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) occurs at twice the rate in individuals with HIV as those without. Better understanding of the inflammatory process behind this accelerated disease rate will assist in guiding future therapeutic trials in both HIV-related COPD and COPD in general. Our previous work demonstrated that using a single low radiation dose computed tomography (CT) scan we can identify individuals with different clinical expression of their lung disease. In this proposal we ill examine the inflammatory cell underpinnings of HIV-related COPD with an aim at guiding future therapeutic trials.

Specific Aims
(1) Phenotype a cohort of HIV+ smokers with airway wall thickness and alveolar density measures to determine the prevalence of airway wall remodeling in relation to emphysema in HIV (35+, 15 pack year).
(2) Evaluate alveolar macrophage phenotypes in emphysematous HIV-associated COPD.
(3) Evaluate alveolar macrophage phenotypes in airway predominant HIV-associated COPD.

Study Design: Cross-sectional
Available Biospecimens: Plasma, BAL (fluid, cellular), PBMC (viable)

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