Endothelial microparticles from primary pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells have been found mediating lung inflammation in COPD. According to a study by a team of researchers from the Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine at The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, China, EMPs do so by transferring miR-126 and thus magnify the anti-inflammatory effect of EMPs, which may provide a novel therapeutic alternative for COPD. The team said that both the in vitro and in vivo studies demonstrated that mRNA and protein levels of inflammation-related factors were significantly increased in the COPD group, while EMPs could dramatically reverse these increases. The study also found that overexpression of miR-126 in EMPs inhibits HMGB1 expression and further magnifies anti-inflammatory effects of EMPs.

Source: dovepress.com