COPD as a lung stem cell disease

University of Houston/ScienceDaily ^ | April 15, 2020 | Frank McKeon and Wa Xian

[ConservativeMind]

Two stem cell experts have found an abundance of abnormal stem cells in the lungs of patients who suffer from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), a leading cause of death worldwide.

"We actually found that three variant cells in all COPD patients drive all the key features of the disease. One produces tremendous amounts of mucins which block the small airways, while the other two drive fibrosis and inflammation which together degrade the function of the lung," Xian reports in the May 14 issue of the journal Cell. "These patients have normal stem cells, though not many of them, but they are dominated by the three variant cells that together make up the disease," she said.

"It's a frustrating disease to care for. We can try and improve the symptoms, but we don't have anything that can cure the disease or prevent death," said UConn Health pulmonologist and critical care doctor Mark Metersky, who gathered the stem cells from lung fluid while performing bronchoscopies.

Xian and McKeon found that, in contrast to normal lungs, COPD lungs were inundated by three unusual variant lung stem cells that are committed to form metaplastic lesions known to inhabit COPD lungs, but seen by many as a secondary effect without a causal link to the pathology of COPD. After the team's postdoctoral fellow, Wei Rao, transplanted each of the COPD clones into immunodeficient subjects, the team found they not only gave rise to the distinct metaplastic lesions of COPD, but they separately triggered the triad of pathologies of COPD including mucus hypersecretion, fibrosis and chronic inflammation.

"The long-overlooked metaplastic lesions in COPD were, in fact, driving the disease rather than merely secondary consequences of the condition," said McKeon.

[ConservativeMind]

A long overlooked component of COPD by researchers and doctors appears to be a driver of it.

[DannyTN]

"and doctors appears to be a driver of it."

Wait, what? Doctors are causing it or spreading it somehow? or causing it to be overlooked? Me no understand what you say.

[ClearCase_guy]

I see that sort of thing a lot — even with professional writers. I certainly make my share of mistakes, but a writer should try to be aware if syntax in a sentence can be confusing.

There was a book about language published a few years ago entitled “The Panda Eats, Shoots and leaves”. As part of the book there was an amusing story about a Panda that goes to a café, eats a meal, kills the waiter and runs away. On the table is a Nature book about pandas which was intended to discuss dietary needs — “The panda eats shoots and leaves.” But due to a typo in the book in the amusing story, the Panda was motivated to commit murder.

[DannyTN]

LOL.

Those panda’s they look so innocent.

[dawn67yo]

I’m not a doctor (enough said) but I heard an ER doctor, a few days ago. He was pleading with his colleagues to not put these patients on ventilators.From his anecdotal insight, he observed the disease getting worse, with what looked like “high altitude sickness” to him, once placed on a ventilator. He was just guessing, but wanted to get the info out for the researches to see if they could take a look at his insight.

I just did a quick google search and there appears to be some info on that.

[ConservativeMind]

A physical component of COPD medical experts have long known existed is an apparent originating source of COPD and not a byproduct of it.

[dawn67yo]

I’m not a doctor (enough said) but I heard an ER doctor, a few days ago. He was pleading with his colleagues to not put these patients on ventilators.From his anecdotal insight, he observed the disease getting worse, with what looked like “high altitude sickness” to him, once placed on a ventilator. He was just guessing, but wanted to get the info out for the researches to see if they could take a look at his insight.

I just did a quick google search and there appears to be some info on that.

[Pollard]

Now that the team knows the identity of the cells that cause inflammation, fibrosis and small airway obstruction, they are hard at work screening them against libraries of drug-like molecules to discover new therapeutics. "As we now know the specific cells responsible for COPD pathology, we can target them, much as we would cancer, with specific drugs that selectively kill them off and leave the normal cells to regenerate normal lung tissue," said Xian.

Future hope maybe. My wife has copd

[octex]

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