Statins may be expected to treat a serious lung disease

Recently, a research report published in the international journal Nature Communications, scientists from the Cincinnati Children's Medical Center have demonstrated that patients in Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis (PAP) The alveoli in the lungs are blocked by a thick substance called a surfactant, and the researchers have found that taking an anti-cholesterol statin can effectively treat the disease.

This may be good news for many patients with alveolar proteinosis, because the current standard treatment for this disease is whole lung lavage, which essentially removes the viscous material from the patient's lungs. This is an invasive procedure in which the patient is required to undergo general anesthesia. In addition, the patient needs to repeat this step each time the lung is blocked, which inevitably reduces the quality of life of the patient later.

The researchers found that the culprit may be cholesterol, Dr. Bruce Trapnell, MD, said that alveolar proteinosis is directly related to the disruption of cell regulation mediated by macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), which is in the lungs. The development of fully mature macrophages is critical, and for macrophages in the lungs, it is often necessary to remove surfactants (substances that are important for lung function) to ensure normal breathing.

In the article, the researchers studied patients and mouse models of alveolar proteinosis, and found that GM-CSF-mediated disruption of cell regulation may induce alveolar proteinosis, and abnormal regulation of cells can reduce giant The ability of phagocytes to treat and cleanse cholesterol, which causes cholesterol to accumulate in the lungs, in addition to triggering an increase in surfactant levels, which in turn induces alveolar proteinosis and impedes patient breathing. Researcher Trapnell explained that now we find that the destruction of cholesterol self-balance is the main cause of alveolar proteinosis. We know that cholesterol in macrophages can be used as a new type of therapy, which may be a new target for later development. Sexual therapy provides a certain idea.

Clinical trial plan

Based on the results of this study, future researchers hope to be able to conduct clinical trials to test whether this new type of statin therapy can effectively treat a variety of alveolar proteopathy patients, researchers currently in two years of patients and genetically engineered patients This statin test was performed in a diseased mouse model. The results suggest that statin therapy can help improve the balance of cholesterol levels in lung macrophages, while also helping the alveoli to clear surfactants in time, which may be expected to improve the respiratory function of experimental and adult patients. Later researchers will continue to delve into whether this new type of statin can effectively treat alveolar proteinosis, and the research is funded by institutions such as the National Institutes of Health Cardiopulmonary and Blood Institute.