Abstract
There is a pressing need for the development of new therapies for emphysema, particularly as no existing treatment has been shown to reduce disease progression. Compounds with a potential activity against the pathological mechanisms postulated to play a role in the development and progression of emphysema should be tested in vivo in animal models of this disease. The choice of the model is of capital importance. While models of elastase-induced emphysema are relatively easy to execute, require low personnel capacity and provide fast results, they also have a limited clinical relevance. On the other hand, models of chronic smoke exposure are timeconsuming, expensive and require high personnel capacity but have a high clinical relevance. Presently, mainly two pharmacological approaches are being considered and investigated in experimental studies. The first approach consists of pharmacological interventions designed to slow down the rate at which alveolar wall is lost in emphysema. In this approach we find anti-inflammatory agents, protease inhibitors and antioxidants. The attempt to reduce lung inflammatory cell infiltration is most appealing since such an effect would also reduce the lung burden of both proteases and oxidants. The second approach is an attempt to reverse the process of alveolar loss by inducing alveolar growth. To our knowledge here only the effects of retinoids and/or retinoid receptor agonists have been investigated. This report presents a selected review of the literature of animal studies using these pharmacological approaches.
Keywords: Cigarette smoke, emphysema, elastase, animal models, anti-emphysema agents
Current Medicinal Chemistry
Title: Testing of Compounds in Models of Pulmonary Emphysema
Volume: 15 Issue: 8
Author(s): Concetta Gardi, Beatrice Arezzini and Piero A. Martorana
Affiliation:
Keywords: Cigarette smoke, emphysema, elastase, animal models, anti-emphysema agents
Abstract: There is a pressing need for the development of new therapies for emphysema, particularly as no existing treatment has been shown to reduce disease progression. Compounds with a potential activity against the pathological mechanisms postulated to play a role in the development and progression of emphysema should be tested in vivo in animal models of this disease. The choice of the model is of capital importance. While models of elastase-induced emphysema are relatively easy to execute, require low personnel capacity and provide fast results, they also have a limited clinical relevance. On the other hand, models of chronic smoke exposure are timeconsuming, expensive and require high personnel capacity but have a high clinical relevance. Presently, mainly two pharmacological approaches are being considered and investigated in experimental studies. The first approach consists of pharmacological interventions designed to slow down the rate at which alveolar wall is lost in emphysema. In this approach we find anti-inflammatory agents, protease inhibitors and antioxidants. The attempt to reduce lung inflammatory cell infiltration is most appealing since such an effect would also reduce the lung burden of both proteases and oxidants. The second approach is an attempt to reverse the process of alveolar loss by inducing alveolar growth. To our knowledge here only the effects of retinoids and/or retinoid receptor agonists have been investigated. This report presents a selected review of the literature of animal studies using these pharmacological approaches.
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Cite this article as:
Gardi Concetta, Arezzini Beatrice and Martorana A. Piero, Testing of Compounds in Models of Pulmonary Emphysema, Current Medicinal Chemistry 2008; 15 (8) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/092986708783955536
DOI https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/092986708783955536 |
Print ISSN 0929-8673 |
Publisher Name Bentham Science Publisher |
Online ISSN 1875-533X |
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