Gene expression analysis uncovers novel hedgehog interacting protein (HHIP) effects in human bronchial epithelial cells

•Gene expression analysis was performed after silencing HHIP, a COPD GWAS gene.•SNPs near differentially expressed genes were nominally associated with COPD.•Extracellular matrix and cell growth genes were enriched and tend to be interconnected.•Seven differentially expressed genes showed significant changes in human COPD lungs.•Novel targets of HHIP that may contribute to COPD pathogenesis are identified.

Hedgehog interacting protein (HHIP) was implicated in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by genome-wide association studies (GWAS). However, it remains unclear how HHIP contributes to COPD pathogenesis. To identify genes regulated by HHIP, we performed gene expression microarray analysis in a human bronchial epithelial cell line (Beas-2B) stably infected with HHIP shRNAs. HHIP silencing led to differential expression of 296 genes; enrichment for variants nominally associated with COPD was found. Eighteen of the differentially expressed genes were validated by real-time PCR in Beas-2B cells. Seven of 11 validated genes tested in human COPD and control lung tissues demonstrated significant gene expression differences. Functional annotation indicated enrichment for extracellular matrix and cell growth genes. Network modeling demonstrated that the extracellular matrix and cell proliferation genes influenced by HHIP tended to be interconnected. Thus, we identified potential HHIP targets in human bronchial epithelial cells that may contribute to COPD pathogenesis.