Translate AMICOR contents if you like

Monday, September 06, 2010

Cigarette Smoke May Contribute to Lung Inflammation Through a New Chemical Pathway

-
Science Daily
September 6, 2010
Cigarette smoke shuts off a key enzyme in airways that regulates the body's response to inflammation, according to findings from the University of Alabama at Birmingham published online in Science Express.

The UAB researchers say smoke inhibits the enzyme, called Leukotriene A4 Hydrolase (LTA4H), causing it to fail in its job of shutting down white blood cells following a successful response to inflammation.

The team says the research study identified a previously unknown substrate of LTA4H called proline-glycine-proline (PGP). In a normal response to inflammation, PGP's role is to recruit neutrophils -- white blood cells -- that rush to the scene and attack the cause of the inflammation. When the job is over, LTA4H steps in to shut off PGP, in turn halting the recruitment of neutrophils and ending the body's defensive stand./.../


Source:

A Critical Role for LTA4H in Limiting Chronic Pulmonary Neutrophilic Inflammation

Science DOI: 10.1126/science.1190594. Published Online September 2, 2010


Robert J. Snelgrove, Patricia L. Jackson, Matthew T. Hardison, Brett D. Noerager, Andrew Kinloch, Amit Gaggar, Suresh Shastry, Steven M. Rowe, Yun M. Shim, Tracy Hussell, J. Edwin Blalock

http://www.sciencemag.org/...

Editor's note: 
The PDF of this article is available.  Please send your request to shatensteins@sympatico.ca and kindly remember to include the name of the full citation (study title, journal and authors' names) and your e-mail address in the body of your message.

No comments: