image: Sulforaphane treatment of lung macrophages from COPD patients kills bacteria. Lung macrophages (white blood cells) are the body's first line of defense against respiratory pathogens; however, lung macrophages from COPD patients have a defect in their ability to phagocytose or kill bacteria. Patients with COPD frequently have a colonization of bacteria in the lungs, leading to increased infections. Using FITC-labeled Pseudomonas aeruginosa, we assessed bacterial uptake in lung macrophages from COPD patients after 16 hours of treatment with sulforaphane. Increased phagocytosis of FITS-PA was confirmed by the immunofluorescence microscopy. FITC fluorescence (green) confirmed the presence of labeled bacteria undergoing phagocytosis. Image was obtained at 40x magnification. This image relates to an article that appeared in the 13 April 2011 issue of Science Translational Medicine, published by AAAS. The study, by Dr. Christopher Harvey of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md., and colleagues, was titled, "Targeting Nrf2 Signaling Improves Bacterial Clearance by Alveolar Macrophages in Patients with COPD and in a Mouse Model." view more
Credit: Image © Science/AAAS