Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease refers to a range of disease of the lungs and airways, such as emphysema. It is one of the world’s biggest causes of death (below heart disease and cancer).
The new study has come from the RIKEN-Max Planck Joint Research Center for Systems Chemical Biology. The molecule is called keratan sulphate, which is a type of sugar (a form of saccharide within the glycan group). The reason for exploring the sugar is because researchers have noted, based on studies with mice, that when mice are exposed to cigarette smoke the natural sugars in the lungs reduce, a sign of damage caused by smoking.
In a research brief, the lead researcher Dr. Naoyuki Taniguchi explains: “we are not absolutely sure of the mechanism through which smoking leads to a reduction in keratan sulfate, but felt that clearly the reduction is important in thinking about glycan-based strategies for combating emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases.”
With the investigation, the scientists engineered keratan sulphate, coding the molecule L4. The molecule was used in two studies using mice to study its effectiveness against emphysema. One study looked at an enzymatic disease that causes chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases; the other was a study of damage to the lungs caused by smoking.
To investigate whether could play a protective role in COPD, the scientists a molecule from repeated disaccharide units of keratan sulfate, termeed L4. The L4 was applied to two mouse models of, one in which the enzyme elastase is the cause, while the other modelled emphysema caused by smoking.
With the smoking model, the L4 molecule was found to prevent the destruction of the small air sacs (alveoli) in lungs that function to exchange gases. Furthermore, the L4 molecule was able to reduce the penetration of neutrophils (white blood cells) that trigger inflammation. The effects were not as apparent with the enzyme-linked disease.
The results suggest that L4 could become the basis of a new drug. Considerably more work is required before such a drug becomes available for people.
The research is published in the American Journal of Physiology, Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology. The title of the study is “A keratan sulfate disaccharide prevents inflammation and the progression of emphysema in murine models.”
