New drug target identified for chronic lung disease
There is no cure for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and effective therapies to treat and manage the disease are urgently needed. Photo: Adobe Stock
Secreted by mast cells, a part of the immune system, the drug target is an enzyme known as mast cell chymase-1 (CMA1).
CMA1 was found by the researchers to actively promote and progress the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Inhibiting the equivalent enzyme in mice was shown to provide protection in experimental models of COPD. New drugs targeting CMA1, said the researchers, could offer up a new therapeutic approach to tackling COPD, a disease that affects more than 300 million people globally.
Dr Gang Liu, the study’s lead author and researcher at the Centenary UTS Centre for Inflammation, said COPD was caused by cigarette smoke, air pollution, as well as bushfire smoke and other particulate matter.
“Over time the lungs breathe in toxic material and become inflamed. Lung function is subsequently impaired leading to breathing difficulties which can then turn fatal,” said Dr Liu.
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