PONE-D-24-20210Dynamic changes of lung sRAGE in mice with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease induced by cigarette smoke exposurePLOS ONE

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Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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5. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #1: - The paper is rigorously made and touched areas that needs further exploration and found to be a harbinger around the use of sRAGE as a pharmacological target. It worth’s to find a way to reach the wider scientific community.

Reviewer #2: In the article titled “Dynamic changes of lung sRAGE in mice with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease induced by cigarette smoke exposure” by Wang et. at., the authors measured the weight, lung function, the amount of MLI, MAN and PAA in the lungs, number of inflammatory cells, the amount of IL-1�, IL-6, and TNF-�, and the amount of sRAGES at 7 time points between 3 and 120 days, sacrificing 6 mice in the control and 6 mice at each time point. Mice exposed to cigarette smoke gained less weight, had decreased lung function over time and developed emphysema, had an increase in total number inflammatory cells, increased production of inflammatory cytokines, and initially higher sRAGES that decreased dramatically by the 120 day mark. Overall, the decrease in pulmonary function in the mice correlated with the increased inflammatory responses and the amount of sRAGES present. The strengths of the paper include n=6 at each time point, error bars present on all the graphs, the figure legends had a good description of figure it was describing, and the methods section was written so it could be easily be performed by another lab. The only weakness was that I found it confusing in Methods section regarding the 7 observation time points and n=6; I didn’t initially understand that 6 mice were sacrificed at each time point. Overall, I recommend that this article be published.

I only have 3 minor edits for the authors to consider.

1. It may make it more clear in the Methods section 1.3.1 Establishment of mouse model in the second sentence to state that 6 mice were sacrificed after each time point instead of only wring n=6 at the end of the sentence.

2. In the abstract, indicate what the acronym CS stands for so it is clear to your audience.

3. In the Discussion in the 11th line (7th sentence) RAGE is misspelled as RGAE.

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Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: No

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Dynamic changes of lung sRAGE in mice with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease induced by cigarette smoke exposure

PONE-D-24-20210R1

Dear Dr. Qiang Wang,

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

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Kind regards,

Misbahuddin Rafeeq

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE