Gut Microbial analysis of the COPD/ECOPD Murine models
We established a murine model of COPD by exposing SD rats to chronic cigarette smoke (CS) and further induced COPD exacerbation (ECOPD) using PM2.5 and LPS. We characterized the gut microbiota using 16S rRNA gene sequencing and performed comprehensive bioinformatics analysis, including alpha and beta diversity, compositional analysis, differential species analysis (LEfSe), and functional prediction (KEGG).