Patient characteristics at baseline.

<p>Patient characteristics for current smokers and ex-smokers with COPD and groups treated with placebo and fluticasone (only compliant patients). Bronchial biopsies were available at baseline of 64 (elastic fibers), 56 (versican), 61 (decorin), 61 (collagen I) and 64 (collagen III) patients. After 30 months, bronchial biopsies of 32 compliant patients were available, tissue from 29 (elastic fibers), 26 (versican), 27 (decorin), 28 (collagen I) and 28 (collagen III) patients had sufficient surface area for analysis (≥0.09 mm²) (fluticasone and placebo groups combined). Data are presented as mean (SD) or median (IQR), unless otherwise stated. Methacholine PC₂₀: provocative concentration of methacholine that causes a 20% decrease in FEV₁, expressed as mean doubling doses. Part of the data have been published previously <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0063430#pone.0063430-Lapperre1" target="_blank">[17]</a>, <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0063430#pone.0063430-Lapperre2" target="_blank">[22]</a>, <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0063430#pone.0063430-Kunz1" target="_blank">[27]</a>.</p>*<p>p<0.05 compared to current smokers (two tailed unpaired t-tests).</p

Correlation between percentage collagen type I at baseline and lung function parameters.

<p>Panel A presents post-bronchodilator FEV₁ (% predicted) and panel B shows PC₂₀ (in doubling dose).</p

Percentage and density of stained area at baseline of ex-smokers and smokers with COPD.

<p>Percentage (upper panel) and density (lower panel) of stained area in bronchial biopsies is presented. Ex-smokers are presented as open circles, current smokers as closed circles. Horizontal bars represent medians. No significant differences were found for all studied extracellular matrix proteins (both percentage stained area and density).</p

Examples of (immuno)histochemical stainings.

<p>The same bronchial biopsy section is shown for the histochemical staining for elastic fibers (A) and the immunohistochemical stainings for versican (B), decorin (C), collagen type I (D) and collagen type III (E). Original magnification 200×.</p