Additional analyses using the meta-analysis results included gene-based testing using VEGAS42 and the literature mining using GRAIL43. Gene expression levels of TGFB2 and RIN3 were measured in lung tissue samples from 15 COPD patients – 8 with moderate (FEV1 < 80% predicted), and 7 with severe (FEV1 < 50% predicted) disease – and 15 control subjects with normal lung function, obtained from the NHLBI Lung Tissue Research Consortium (LTRC), as described previously44.
