PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Gulam Haji AU - Coen Weigman AU - Mehul Patel AU - Diviya Mohan AU - Paul Kemp AU - Ian Adcock AU - Fan Chung AU - Mike Polkey TI - Mitochondrial membrane potential in the airway and skeletal muscle compartments of smokers with and without COPD DP - 2014 Sep 01 TA - European Respiratory Journal PG - P846 VI - 44 IP - Suppl 58 4099 - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/44/Suppl_58/P846.short 4100 - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/44/Suppl_58/P846.full SO - Eur Respir J2014 Sep 01; 44 AB - Introduction & RationaleCOPD is a disease of the airways and lungs with extra pulmonary manifestations. Mitochondria are important in the pathways that prevent the ageing process and oxidative stress. If oxidative stress arose from the lung and spilled over to cause skeletal muscle weakness then greater evidence of mitochondrial dysfunction should be evident in the lung.ObjectivesWe measured mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔYm) as a marker of mitochondrial dysfunction in endobronchial and skeletal muscle biopsies from COPD patients and healthy smokers matched for smoking history, age and sex.Methods and MeasurementWe have biopsied 6 GOLD II, 2 GOLD I (COPD) and 6 Healthy smokers. Endobronchial biopsy and percutaneous muscle biopsy of the vastus lateralis were obtained on the same day; additional phenotypic measurements included lung function, incremental exercise test, 6-minute walk (6MW) distance and CT thorax. Mitochondria were isolated from tissue and ΔYm measured using the carbocyanine dye JC-1. ResultsView this table:ResultsConclusionOf the 6 GOLD II patients 2 had emphysema on CT, interestingly so did both the GOLD I patients. GOLD II patients had a significantly lower ΔYm in the airways compared to healthy smokers (P=0.035). No such difference is demonstrated in the muscle thus supporting the spill over hypothesis.