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ShareOct. 17, 2011 — Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common lung disease that gets progressively worse over time, making it harder and harder to breathe. It is caused primarily by cigarette smoking, which leads to persistent inflammation in the airways and the subsequent destruction of the lung tissue.
Given the central role of inflammation in COPD, it is surprising that patients derive little benefit from treatment with potent anti-inflammatory drugs known as corticosteroids.
Working with cells from individuals with COPD, a team of researchers led by Shyam Biswal and Rajesh Thimmulappa, at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, has identified a candidate therapeutic that could potentially be used to augment the anti-inflammatory effects of corticosteroids in individuals with COPD -- sulforaphane, a compound obtained from cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cabbages.
The research is published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Journal of Clinical Investigation, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- Deepti Malhotra, Rajesh K. Thimmulappa, Nicolas Mercado, Kazuhiro Ito, Ponvijay Kombairaju, Sarvesh Kumar, Jinfang Ma, David Feller-Kopman, Robert Wise, Peter Barnes, Shyam Biswal. Denitrosylation of HDAC2 by targeting Nrf2 restores glucocorticosteroid sensitivity in macrophages from COPD patients. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 2011; DOI: 10.1172/JCI45144
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
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