Novel approaches for inhibition of mucus hypersecretion in asthma.
Many obstructive airway disorders such as cystic fibrosis, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are characterized by mucous metaplasia of the airway epithelium and chronic mucus hypersecretion. Airway occlusion by mucus plugging has been reported in many cases of fatal asthma and conventional mucolytic therapies have been unable to significantly affect mucus-related airway obstruction. Recently, for the first time, direct evidence was presented for improvement of mucus related airway obstruction in a murine model of asthma, highlighting the potential usefulness of therapeutically targeting mucus hypersecretion. We review the emerging targets for inhibition of mucus hypersecretion and discuss some of the recent published scientific literature and patent applications in this field, to provide a framework for further drug discovery in mucus modulation.
Agrawal
Anurag
A
Molecular Immunology and Immunogenetics Laboratory, Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, University of Delhi, Delhi-110 007, India.
Mabalirajan
Ulaganathan
U
Ram
Arjun
A
Ghosh
Balaram
B
D000402:Airway Obstruction / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000818:Animals; D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001249:Asthma / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism; D004548:Elasticity; D005089:Exocytosis / Q000187:drug effects; D005100:Expectorants / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D020397:Goblet Cells / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D009093:Mucus / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D010330:Patents as Topic; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects; D014783:Viscosity
D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D005100:Expectorants