Opto-electromechanically diagnosing airway injuries

Epithelial cells line airways to protect them from the harmful particles, gases, and pathogens during inhalation. However, these inhalants, or physical trauma, can injure the epithelial layer and decrease its function. Researchers struggle to measure exactly how such injuries affect epithelial layer function. Chen et al. developed a two-pronged approach to quantify this relationship.

First, they tracked particle transport. The epithelial layer creates a mucociliary flow to clear substances from the lung surface. In rat tracheas with varying degrees of acute injury, they found this flow slows near the injury sites, indicating decreased function of the epithelial layer.

The authors also measured electrical properties of airway tissue near the injury sites. The injured tissue’s response to electric current decreased, which suggested reduced functioning of the epithelial layer as well.

“The results suggest that our methods can allow label-free, minimally invasive assessment of airway tissue injury,” said author Jiawen Chen said.

These two experiments, plus supplementary computer modeling, established a relationship between injury and function of epithelial barrier, which could be helpful in diagnosing airway injuries.

“Our opto-electromechanical method allows us to understand the consequence of the injury rather than just confirming the injury,” said author Jinho Kim. “I think this sensitive method will allow clinicians to more quickly detect injuries and decide what kind of intervention is necessary.”

But before the authors test their method in humans, they will use it to investigate other types of airway injuries, such as those that arise from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, asthma, and other diseases.

Source: “Opto-electromechanical quantification of epithelial barrier function in injured and healthy airway tissues,” by Jiawen Chen, Seyed Mohammad Mir, Maria R. Hudock, Meghan R. Pinezich, Panpan Chen, Matthew Bacchettad, Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic, and Jinho Kim, APL Bioengineering (2023). The article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0123127 .