A team of Australian and Belgian researchers has revealed a new therapeutic approach to treat Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). They demonstrated that by inhibiting necroptosis, chronic airway inflammation and damage to the lung could be prevented in COPD patients. This study published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine was the first of its kind to understand the distinct roles of necroptosis and apoptosis in COPD.
Necroptosis , a type of necrosis associated with tissue inflammation and destruction, is mediated by r eceptor-interacting serine/threonine-protein kinase 3 (RIPK3) and mixed lineage kinase domain-like pseudokinase (MLKL) . To understand the role of necroptosis in COPD, levels of RIPK3, MLKL, and activated phospho-MLKL (p-MLKL) in lung tissues were determined from both COPD patients and non-COPD controls. Further, the cigarette…
