WASHINGTON, August 3, 2021 / PRNewswire / – An article recently published in Experimental biology and medicine (Volume 246, Number 14, July 2021) provides new information on the pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The study, led by Dr Baoquin Sun of the State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease of the National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease and the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Medicine (China), reports that patients with COPD exhibit alterations in energy metabolism.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a respiratory disease characterized by a blockage of air flow to the lungs. COPD is associated with long-term exposure to irritating gases or particles, most often from cigarette smoke and environmental pollution. Although there is no cure, disease progression can be delayed by reducing exposure to pollutants and infections. The development of new therapies to delay disease progression requires a better understanding of the pathogenesis of COPD. Recent studies have implicated alterations in energy metabolism in many chronic diseases, including COPD. However, a detailed analysis of the metabolites, or small molecules, generated during energy production in patients with COPD is not available.

In this study, Dr. Sun and colleagues used metabolomic profiling to study aerobic and anaerobic energy metabolism in patients with COPD. Patients with COPD had a significant increase in anaerobic metabolites at rest compared to normal subjects. Patients with higher Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (GOLD) classification levels had more severe disease, higher levels of pyruvate and lactic acid, and reduced energy supply. After treatment, the level of anaerobic metabolites was always higher than the level of aerobic metabolites. In conclusion, this study highlights the importance of high propensity and low efficiency anaerobic energy supply pathways in lung injury. Dr Sun said, “The energy metabolism pathway analysis method brings a new perspective to the research area of ​​COPD.

Dr. Steven R. Goodman, editor-in-chief of Experimental biology and medicinesaid, “Dr Sun and colleagues have used metabolomics to study energy metabolism pathways related to COPD. Their fundamental findings demonstrate the role of anaerobic and low-efficiency energy supply pathways in lung injury from COPD. . “

Experimental biology and medicine is a global journal dedicated to the publication of multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research in biomedical sciences. The journal was created in 1903. Experimental biology and medicine is the journal of the Society of Experimental Biology and Medicine. To learn more about the benefits of membership in the society, visit www.sebm.org. If you would like to publish in the journal, please visit http://ebm.sagepub.com/.

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SOURCE Experimental biology and medicine