Pulmonary emphysema: Novel neutrophil elastase isoform discovered
Possible significance for disease process and therapy failure
2015-04-13
(Press-News.org) Neuherberg, March 13, 2015. Elastases of white blood cells are involved in tissue destruction and can thus cause various diseases. Scientists from the Helmholtz Zentrum München have discovered a new isoform which could be involved both in the pathogenesis of diseases such as pulmonary emphysema as well as in the failure of some therapy approaches. The results of the study have just been published in the journal Nature Communications.
A delicate balance of elastases and elastase inhibitors provides for regular tissue formation and destruction in the body. A perturbation of this balance can lead to excess elastase activity - and as a consequence, increased tissue damage. This is also the case in pulmonary emphysema: Here elastases are no longer sufficiently inactivated, and the lung tissue is destroyed.
Cleaved neutrophil elastase "aggressive and resistant"
The research team of Dr. Therese Dau, Dr. Ali Önder Yildirim and PD Dr. Dieter Jenne of the Comprehensive Pneumology Center (CPC) at Helmholtz Zentrum München has now discovered a novel elastase isoform and has studied its properties. The elastase produced by neutrophil granulocytes (the largest group of white blood cells) may be present in a cleaved (two-chain) state. It also leads to tissue damage; at the same time it appears to react less to inhibitors.
"Our results show that the cleaved elastase is particularly aggressive and resistant," said study leader Jenne. "That is why we suspect that it contributes to the development of pulmonary emphysema - especially when an inhibitor deficiency is present as a cause of disease, such as in congenital alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency.
Basis for improved drugs
Elastase inhibitors have long been claimed as a useful therapeutic approach to neutralize the excess elastase in pulmonary emphysema, but their results did not meet expectations. "The reduced effect of inhibitors on cleaved elastase explains why some inhibitors remain ineffective," said lead author Dau. "Based on our studies, however, new inhibitory substances may be developed in the future that are effective against different elastase isoforms and thus achieve better efficiency."
INFORMATION:
Further Information
Publication:
Dau, T. et al. (2015): Auto-processing of neutrophil elastase near its active site reduces the efficiency of natural and synthetic elastase inhibitors, Nature Communications. doi: 10.1038/ncomms7722
Link to publication: http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2015/150410/ncomms7722/full/ncomms7722.html
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2015-04-13
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Researchers studying the commonly used pain reliever acetaminophen found it has a previously unknown side effect: It blunts positive emotions.
In the study, participants who took acetaminophen reported less strong emotions when they saw both very pleasant and very disturbing photos, when compared to those who took placebos.
Acetaminophen, the main ingredient in the over-the-counter pain reliever Tylenol, has been in use for more than 70 years in the United States, but this is the first time that this side effect has been documented.
Previous research ...
2015-04-13
Richard III may have kept his severe scoliosis hidden until death
Body of a king part of propaganda of power
'Crookback Richard' myth and the treatment of his corpse linked
Last month saw the mortal remains of King Richard III reinterred at Leicester Cathedral, more than two years after University of Leicester archaeologists discovered his skeleton in a car park in August 2012.
The body of a mediaeval monarch was always under scrutiny, and Richard III's was no exception. In death, however, his body became subject to new forms of examination and interpretation: stripped ...
2015-04-13
Scientists from the Institute of Food Research have found evidence for a mechanism by which certain food compounds could help protect our health.
Dietary studies have shown that people who eat the largest amounts of fruit and vegetables have a reduced risk of developing chronic conditions, such as heart disease and cancer. There could be several reasons for this. Some fruit and vegetables naturally contain high amounts of compounds called polyphenols, which could provide protective health benefits.
In this study, Dr Paul Kroon and his team at IFR have shown that polyphenols ...
2015-04-13
Burying the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, a byproduct of burning fossil fuels, has been mooted as one geoengineering approach to ameliorating climate change. To be effective, trapping the gas in geological deposits would be the for the very long term, thousands of years. Now, a team in Brazil, writing in the International Journal of Global Warming has reviewed the risk assessments for this technology and suggests a lack of knowledge means we should be cautious of turning to this method rather than finding sustainable ways to reduce emissions at their source.
Maísa ...
2015-04-13
The human immune system can handle large bursts of HIV activity and so it should be possible to cure HIV with a 'kick and kill' strategy, finds new research led by UCL, the University of Oxford and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The 'kick and kill' strategy aims to cure HIV by stimulating the immune system with a vaccine, then re-awakening dormant HIV hiding in white blood cells with a chemical 'kick' so that the boosted immune system can identify and kill them.
While this approach is promising in theory, it was previously unclear whether the human ...
2015-04-13
Silicon based chips and transistors have been at the heart of all electronic devices since the 1950s. Driven by economic and environmental factors, and by the need for renewable energy resources, there is currently an enormous scientific and technological interest in transitioning away from silicon based electronics to new organic electronic devices. Just like living organisms, organic electronics use carbon in complex molecules as their key functional component. These new organic electronic devices are less expensive, more environmentally friendly and better recyclable ...
2015-04-13
ANN ARBOR--University of Michigan researchers have discovered a biomarker that may be a potentially important breakthrough in diagnosing and treating prostate cancer.
Biomarkers in the body are analogous to the warning lights in cars that signal something might need repairing. In our bodies, they indicate if something's wrong or if we're about to get sick or if we're predisposed to certain illnesses.
"(In the context of prostate cancer) there's a big interest in trying to find biomarkers to discriminate between aggressive and nonaggressive disease," said Renny Franceschi, ...
2015-04-13
As part of the PlanetS National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR), astronomers from the Universities of Geneva (UNIGE) and Bern, Switzerland, have come to measure the temperature of the atmosphere of an exoplanet with unequalled precision, by crossing two approaches. The first approach is based on the HARPS spectrometer and the second consists of a new way of interpreting sodium lines. From these two additional analyses, researchers have been able to conclude that the HD189733b exoplanet is showing infernal atmospheric conditions: wind speeds of more than 1000 kilometres ...
2015-04-13
A new study indicates that vaccinating 12-year-old boys against the humanpapilloma virus (HPV) may be a cost-effective strategy for preventing oropharyngeal squamous cell cancer, a cancer that starts at the back of the throat and mouth, and involves the tonsils and base of the tongue. Published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study provides important information about HPV vaccination, which has proven effective against HPV-related disease in both sexes but remains controversial, especially in males.
Many western countries ...
2015-04-13
This news release is available in Portuguese. Cancer patients are more likely to get infections. Pneumonia is the most frequent type of infection in this group and a frequent cause of ICU admission and mortality. A study conducted by researchers from the D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR) in partnership with Brazilian hospitals and universities analyzed the factors associated with severe pneumonia in hospitalized cancer patients and suggests that more personalized treatment protocols can reduce mortality in these patients.
Until now, there was a consensus ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] Pulmonary emphysema: Novel neutrophil elastase isoform discovered
Possible significance for disease process and therapy failure
