Cantor Jerome O, Turino Gerard M
St. John's University, New York, NY 11439, USA.
Chest. 2004 Jan;125(1):288-92. doi: 10.1378/chest.125.1.288.
While most attempts at developing a treatment for pulmonary emphysema have focused on the use of elastase inhibitors to reduce elastic fiber damage and the loss of alveoli, this laboratory has developed a method of preventing such injury by the intratracheal administration of hyaluronan (HA). Animals treated with HA prior to the induction of experimental emphysema develop significantly less disease than untreated controls. The protective effect of HA may be related to its ability to bind to lung elastic fibers, thereby preventing their breakdown by elastases. Although clinical trials involving nebulized HA are not expected to yield a measurable treatment effect for at least several years, it is proposed that the special ability of this polysaccharide to retain water may increase the elasticity of lung elastic fibers, producing a relatively rapid improvement in pulmonary mechanics. Such an outcome might speed the development of this potential treatment for pulmonary emphysema.
虽然大多数开发肺气肿治疗方法的尝试都集中在使用弹性蛋白酶抑制剂来减少弹性纤维损伤和肺泡丧失，但本实验室已开发出一种通过气管内给予透明质酸（HA）来预防此类损伤的方法。在诱发实验性肺气肿之前用HA治疗的动物，其病情发展明显比未治疗的对照组轻。HA的保护作用可能与其结合肺弹性纤维的能力有关，从而防止弹性蛋白酶对其进行分解。尽管涉及雾化HA的临床试验预计至少几年内不会产生可测量的治疗效果，但有人提出，这种多糖保留水分的特殊能力可能会增加肺弹性纤维的弹性，从而使肺力学得到相对快速的改善。这样的结果可能会加速这种潜在的肺气肿治疗方法的开发。
