Press release
Monday, February 1, 2021
Naturally produced by the body, hyaluronan represents a new class of biological products that significantly improves lung health in patients with severe COPD.
Researchers at the National Institutes of Health and their collaborators found that inhalation of unfragmented hyaluronan improves lung function in patients suffering from severe exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Hyaluronan, a sugar secreted by living tissue that acts as a scaffold for cells, is also used in cosmetics as a moisturizer for the skin and as a nasal spray to moisturize the airways of the lungs. Used as a treatment, hyaluronan shortened the time that patients with COPD in intensive care needed respiratory support, reduced the number of days in the hospital, and saved money by reducing hospital stays.
The study, published online in Respiratory Research, is a good example of how examining the impacts of environmental pollution on the lungs can lead to viable treatments. Several years ago, co-senior author Stavros Garantziotis, MD, medical director of the Clinical Research Unit of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), which is part of NIH, demonstrated that the exposure to pollution causes the decomposition of hyaluronan in the lungs. smaller fragments. These fragments irritate the lung tissue and activate the immune system, causing constriction and inflammation of the airways. He determined that inhaling healthy, fragment-free hyaluronan reduces inflammation by outperforming smaller fragments of hyaluronan.
Garantziotis offered an analogy on how inflammation occurs. He said hyaluronan surrounds cells like the mortar that surrounds bricks. The introduction of contamination causes cracks in the mortar, which divide it into smaller pieces.
“These smaller pieces irritate the body and activate the immune system, causing inflammation,” Garantziotis said. “The introduction of complete hyaluronan, as a new layer of mortar, means it’s less irritating and reduces the amount of inflammation.”
Since hyaluronan was approved in Italy for airway hydration, Garantziotis worked with colleagues in Rome to see if full-size hyaluronan inhalation could improve lung function in patients with COPD in the state. critical. He explained that patients used a respiratory apparatus similar to a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine to treat their acute exacerbation of COPD. This device provided respiratory support by blowing air into the airways through a mask.
“Inhaled hyaluronan qualifies as a stimulant aid for patients with exacerbated COPD as it is easy and convenient to administer,” said Raffaele Incalzi, lead co-author, Department of Medicine, Campus Bio-Medico University and Teaching Hospital, Rome “In addition, it acts locally only on the bronchial tree and therefore cannot interfere with any systemic drug.”
Garantziotis also wanted to know what produced the constriction of the airways in the lungs of patients with COPD. He theorized that there could be thick mucus. Collaborating with scientists at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), they cultured airway cells from patients with emphysema in culture and examined how mucus moved in the cells. They saw that mucus flowed more easily after administering hyaluronan.
Co-author Steven Rowe, MD, director of the Gregory Fleming James Cystic Fibrosis Research Center at the UAB, said that if patients with severe COPD were taking hyaluronan, treatment would improve mucus transport and help their recovery. .
Current treatments for lung disease include inhaled steroids, antibiotics, and bronchodilators, so using a molecule that is already in the body is a new concept. The goal now of Garantziotis is to study this treatment in more patients in the US, so that it can understand the optimal conditions and dosage that will get the most benefits.
About the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS): NIEHS supports research to understand the effects of the environment on human health and is part of the National Institutes of Health. For more information on NIEHS or environmental health issues, visit https://www.niehs.nih.gov/ or subscribe to a news list.
Regarding the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the country’s medical research agency, includes 27 institutes and centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the leading federal agency that conducts and supports basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.
Concession numbers: Z01ES102605, Z01ES102465, R35HL135816, P30DK072482
Regarding the National Institutes of Health (NIH):
NIH, the country’s medical research agency, includes 27 institutes and centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the leading federal agency that conducts and supports basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.
NIH … Turning discovery into health®
References
Galdi F, Pedone C, McGee CA, George M, Rice AB, Hussain SS, Vijaykumar K, Boitet ER, Tearney GJ, McGrath JA, Brown AR, Rowe SM, Incalzi RA, Garantziotis S. 2021. Hyaluronan enhanced by inhalation respiratory failure in acute exacerbation of COPD: a pilot study. Respir Res: doi: 10.1186 / s12931-020-01610-x.