Potential New Compound to Treat Chronic Bronchitis and Other Lung Diseases

FPS-ZM1, an antagonist chemical compound that fights RAGE (the receptor for advanced glycation end-products), may treat COPD.

Highlights

Receptor for advanced glycan end-products (RAGE)-specific antagonist chemical compound, FPS-ZM1 has a protective role in COPD.
Coronary Obstructive Pulmonary Disease //(COPD) is a group of lung conditions which include chronic bronchitis, emphysema and chronic asthma.
RAGE was associated with the up-regulation of DAMP-related signaling pathways via Nrf2 (a master regulator of the total antioxidant system in humans).

A potential drug to combat the life-threatening effects of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has been identified.

A recent study investigated the efficacy of a receptor for advanced glycan end-products (RAGE)-specific antagonist chemical compound, FPS-ZM1, in mice, and found that this compound reverses the inflammatory response and has a protective role in COPD.

Chronic Bronchitis - Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment & Prevention
Chronic bronchitis is a type of chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder that causes obstruction to airflow and makes breathing difficult.

‘A receptor for advanced glycan end-products (RAGE)-specific antagonist chemical compound, FPS-ZM1 reverses the inflammatory response and has a protective role in COPD.’

COPD is a group of lung conditions which include chronic bronchitis, emphysema and chronic asthma that is fully not reversible. The symptoms include chronic cough with sputum production and breathlessness.

"RAGE disturbances in pulmonary disorders are precise and effective strategies with beneficial clinical effects," said Se-Ran Yang, D.V.M., Ph.D., a researcher involved in the work and an associate professor at the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery in the School of Medicine at Kangwon National University in Gangwon, Korea.

"Blockade of RAGE is a novel clinical therapeutic for COPD ameliorates emphysema/COPD development and progression."

Emphysema - Causes, Types, Risk Factors, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment
Emphysema is a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, marked by alveolar damage and reduced air flow to lungs leading to breathlessness and cough.

In their study, Yang and colleagues investigated the efficacy of RAGE-specific antagonist FPS-ZM1 administration in both in vivo and in vitro COPD models to determine the molecular mechanism by which RAGE influences COPD.

The researchers injected mice with an in vivo COPD inducer and the RAGE antagonist FPS-ZM1. Then they assessed the infiltrated inflammatory cells and their production of cytokines.

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Cellular expression of RAGE, initiating inflammatory response, and soluble RAGE, acting as a "decoy," was determined in protein, serum, and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid in the mice, as well as in the serum of human donors and patients with COPD.

They analyzed downstream damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) and danger signals in vivo and in vitro and in patients with COPD, and found that RAGE was associated with the up-regulation of DAMP-related signaling pathways via Nrf2 (a master regulator of the total antioxidant system in humans). FPS-ZM1 administration also significantly reversed emphysematous lung symptoms in mice.

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"No one expected the pathogenic roots of COPD to be simple, and this study gives us an indication of the complexity involved.," said Thoru Pederson, Ph.D., Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal. "The current pharmacological armamentarium is limited, and studies like this are thus extremely valuable as a foundation."

Reference

Hanbyeol Lee et al., Blockade of RAGE ameliorates elastase-induced emphysema development and progression via RAGE-DAMP signaling, The FASEB Journal (2017) http://dx.doi.org/10.1096/fj.201601155R.

Source-Medindia