American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Apr 2016
Sex Differences in Airway Remodeling in a Mouse Model of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.
After adjustment for the amount of smoking, women have a 50% increased risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) compared with men. The anatomic basis and/or mechanism(s) of these sex-related differences in COPD are unknown. ⋯ The excess risk of small airway disease in female mice after chronic smoke exposure was associated with increased oxidative stress and TGF-β1 signaling and also was related to the effects of female sex hormones. Estrogen receptor antagonism might be of value in reducing oxidative stress in female smokers.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Apr 2016
Membrane-anchored Serine Protease Matriptase is a Trigger of Pulmonary Fibrogenesis.
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a devastating disease that remains refractory to current therapies. ⋯ These results implicate increased matriptase expression and activity in the pathogenesis of pulmonary fibrosis in human IPF and in an experimental mouse model. Overall, targeting matriptase, or treatment by CM, which is already in clinical use for other diseases, may represent potential therapies for IPF.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Apr 2016
Bone Marrow-derived Cells Contribute to Pathogenesis of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.
Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a progressive lung disease of the pulmonary microvasculature. Studies suggest that bone marrow (BM)-derived circulating cells may play an important role in its pathogenesis. ⋯ Our data show that BM cells played a key role in PAH pathogenesis and that the transplanted BM cells were able to drive the lung phenotype in a myeloablative transplant model. Furthermore, the specific cell types involved were derived from hematopoietic stem cells and exhibit dysfunction long before the development of lung pathology.