The most common cause of death in America is chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD). This includes emphysema and other conditions. A new study by amoebas has found genes that could help protect the cells of the lungs against this harm and possibly reverse COPD symptoms.Corrine Kliment (a University of Pittsburgh physician and researcher on lung disease) is the study's leader author. Kliment and her colleagues looked at the soil-dwelling amoeba Dictyostelium disoideum to find potential useful genes.Many genes found in amoebas are also found among humans. However, the life spans of microscopic organisms is much shorter than humans' so scientists can quickly identify genes of interest. Douglas Robinson, senior author of the study and a Johns Hopkins University researcher, said that we joke that humans are just amoebas without hair.Smoking cigarettes is responsible for about 75 percent of COPD-related deaths. Robinson's laboratory screened 35,000 amoebas in four weeks. Their genes were altered to produce a variety of proteins to determine if they could be protected from smoke damage. Researchers exposed all amoebas to cigarette fume extract and found that the best ones were those that overproduced certain proteins essential for cell metabolism.They next looked at the same proteins in mouse and human lung cells. They discovered that the production of ANT2 in lung cells of COPD patients, smokers and mice exposed to long-term smoking was lower than in those of COPD patients.Researchers were also surprised to discover that ANT2 was playing a non-metabolic role. Kliment examined the cells of lung cells under a microscope and saw ANT2 accumulating around hairlike projections called cilia. These cilia sweep back and forth to remove mucus from the lungs. These cilia are unable to move well in COPD. Mucus can build up and cause respiratory failure. Kliment and her coworkers discovered that ANT2 increased hydration, which made it easier for cilias to remove mucus. Their research was published in the Journal of Cell Science.Robinson, Kliment and others are now working to develop drugs and gene therapies to increase ANT2 production. They hope this will reduce mucus buildup and reverse COPD symptoms. Robinson and some colleagues are currently working together to create a company that will screen amoebas for potential therapies for COPD.Gregg Duncan, a University of Maryland researcher on lung disease, said he was optimistic that the work could help people with COPD. It's great to see an opportunity for patients to experience a longer-lasting, more sustainable treatment.
