Researchers at the University of Alabama Medical Center have discovered a new reason cigarette smoke causes lung damage.<\/p>\n
They found that smoke inhibits leukotriene A4 hydrolase (LTA4A). This molecule is important in shutting down white blood cells following a successful response to inflammation. By not shutting down white blood cells, smokers experience ongoing inflammatory damage to the lung and airways; this leads to COPD and emphysema.<\/p>\n
The same researchers also discovered previously unknown substrata of LTA4H called proline-glycine-proline (PGP), which actively recruits white blood cells into lunch tissues.<\/p>\n
Discovering these two molecules naturally helps understand how smoking injures lungs, but may also lead to research that allows manipulating these molecules to reduce lung injury.<\/p>\n
This could be of benefit not only for smoke-related lung disease, but also for other inflammation problems such as asthma and cystic fibrosis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Researchers at the University of Alabama Medical Center have discovered a new reason cigarette smoke causes lung damage. They found that smoke inhibits leukotriene A4 hydrolase (LTA4A). This molecule is important in shutting down white blood cells following a successful response to inflammation. By not shutting down white blood cells, smokers experience ongoing inflammatory damage to the lung and airways; this leads to COPD and emphysema. The same researchers also discovered previously unknown substrata of LTA4H called proline-glycine-proline (PGP), which…<\/p>\n