Author Archives: Marta Figueiredo PhD

The infection rate of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is 24 times higher in lab-grown airway cells from people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) than in those from healthy people, a study shows. This increased susceptibility to infection, which makes severe outcomes more likely, was associated with…

Lung-directed treatment with isthmin 1 (ISM1) — a soluble signaling molecule naturally present in the lungs — reduced lung inflammation, suppressed emphysema development, and preserved lung function in a mouse model of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a study shows. Emphysema is a severe form of COPD marked by damage…

JadiCells, the investigational stem cell therapy by Therapeutic Solutions International (TSOI), preserved lung function and increased the number of cells thought to have a role in lung repair in mice with inflammation-induced lung injury, the company announced. These preclinical findings further support the potential of JadiCells to both prevent…

Activating receptor proteins of prostaglandins (PGs) — fatty molecules with hormone-like effects — restores the regenerative potential of lung cells in cellular models of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a study shows. This was achieved with iloprost and misoprostol — two compounds that mimic the activity of PGs and are…

Researchers in the U.S. have identified a new cell type in the narrowest airways of the lungs that, besides being involved in producing the mucus lining the airways, can give rise to alveolar epithelial type 2 (AT2) cells, which are involved in lung tissue repair and regeneration. This cell type,…

The levels of a mucus protein called MUC5AC — abnormally increased when a person gets a viral infection — are associated with airway inflammatory responses and exacerbation severity in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a study shows. Simply put, the increased mucus protein from viruses creates a “vicious…

Abnormally high levels of iron inside airway immune cells are associated with more frequent lung infection-related exacerbations in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a study shows. Excess iron was also shown to impair the ability of these cells, called macrophages, to fight COPD-related microbes, and can be used…

A team of researchers have created a comprehensive blueprint of cells that are in the lungs of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients, which helped them identify previously unknown cell subpopulations and changes in gene activity and cellular interactions. “Our analysis identified novel changes in gene expression [activity] and…

Researchers have discovered that an ion channel protein called TRPML3 may be a new therapeutic target for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Their preclinical study found that the protein regulates the levels of MMP-12, a molecule produced in lung immune cells and known to drive COPD. Mice lacking the…

A single alteration in the sequence of the CHRNA5 gene that leads to inflammation, tissue remodeling, and abnormal repair of airway cells was found, in a recent study, to be a risk factor for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Notably, this gene variant is involved in nicotine-responding/dependent pathways, but was…