Discovery of biomarkers can help improve the diagnosis and treatment of asthma and COPD

The results of this study, published in the American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology, will help clinicians diagnose and determine the severity of chronic lung disease and make bronchodilators more effective

Reynold Panettieri, vice president of translational medicine at Rutgers University and co-author of the paper, said: "This protein is considered important in some diseases, but until now, it has never been defined in respiratory diseases such as asthma and COPD

Studies have found that a protein on the smooth muscle cell membrane of the lungs of patients with chronic airway disease can leak cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), which transmits biological information to help relax lung muscles and expand the airway

Researchers from Rutgers University and Yale University School of Medicine have discovered cAMP leaks in airway smooth muscle cells of patients with and without asthma

Panettieri said: "We have determined that asthma patients have higher levels of cAMP in the blood

Journal Reference :

1. Gaoyuan Cao, Hong Lam, Joseph A.