loading . . . A Breath of Fresh Insight: Targeting CXCR4 in Early Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease | American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common lung disease characterized by persistent airflow obstruction and a gradual worsening of symptoms, particularly in the context of bacterial and viral infections during COPD exacerbations (1). Although this disease is often associated with cigarette smoking, exposure to a wide range of noxious inhaled particulates, including air pollution and biomass combustion products, is now understood to contribute to COPD development in genetically and/or physiologically susceptible individuals (1). COPD pathology is characterized by chronic inflammation of the airways, which, in the long term, leads to structural changes to the affected organs, i.e., small airway fibrosis, emphysema, and remodeling of the pulmonary vasculature. Ultimately, changes in the pulmonary vasculature can lead to pulmonary hypertension, cardiac hypertrophy, and myocardial fibrosis (1). https://tinyurl.com/4ny23au4
