Effect of prolonged lipopolysaccharide exposure on lung function and health.

It is well known that chronic smoking can have a significant impact of lung function. Through this project we aimed to discover whether chronic inflammation alone would alter lung function. Interestingly even after weekly direct intratracheal injections of LPS there were no significant changes in lung function compared to PBS treated mice. We have shown here that chronic inflammation alone was not sufficient to alter lung function in mice, and that the decrease in lung function seen in chronic smokers is attributable to numerous factors and not inflammation alone.