Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.
Subscribe

Logo for

Science 330 (6000): 40-41

Copyright © 2010 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science

Medicine

Neutrophils Find Smoke Attractive

Peter J. Barnes

Although neutrophils defend the lung against bacterial and viral infections, they also promote an inflammatory response that can lead to several lung diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), severe asthma, cystic fibrosis, and acute respiratory distress syndrome. These diseases are difficult to treat with anti-inflammatory steroids (glucocorticoids) because they actually increase neutrophil survival. In addition, T helper 17 cells, which may drive neutrophilic inflammation in the lungs, respond poorly to glucocorticoids (1). So far, nonsteroid-based anti-inflammatory drugs that target neutrophilic inflammation have had limited use because of side effects (2). On page 90 of this issue, Snelgrove et al. (3) describe how a neutrophil enzyme, leukotriene A4 hydrolase (LTA4H), controls inflammation, with implications for new therapeutic strategies to treat debilitating lung disorders.

National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London SW3 6LY, UK.

E-mail: p.j.barnes{at}imperial.ac.uk

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
A mathematical modeling approach to risk assessment for normal and anemic women chronically exposed to carbon monoxide from biomass-fueled cookstoves.
E. N. Bruce, M. C. Bruce, and K. Erupaka-Chada (2011)
J Appl Physiol 111, 473-484
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »

To Advertise     Find Products

Science Signaling. ISSN 1937-9145 (online), 1945-0877 (print). Pre-2008: Science's STKE. ISSN 1525-8882