Proteinase-antiproteinase imbalance in the pathogenesis of Emphysema: The role of metalloproteinases in lung damage
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Pardo, A. [1] ; Selman, M. [1]
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[1] Faculty of Sciences, Autonomous National University of Mexico and National Institute of Respiratory Diseases, Mexico
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- Localización: Histology and histopathology: cellular and molecular biology, ISSN-e 1699-5848, ISSN 0213-3911, Vol. 14, Nº. 1, 1999, págs. 227-233
- Idioma: inglés
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Resumen
Pulmonary emphysema refers to a lung disorder characterized by a diffuse destruction of the alveolar walls resulting in enlargement of the distal airspaces. The disease is usually a chronic, progressive, and disabling disorder. The concept of proteinase/antiproteinase imbalance evolved [rom the identification of patients with a1-antytripsin deficiency, and from the development of experimental emphysematous lesions using different enzymes. For a long time, this concept was secn as an elastase/antielastase imbalance, with the consequent degradation of elastin. Recent evidence, however, suggests that an intricate process of pulmonary remodeling occurs during the development of emphysema, where a complex network of serine proteases and metalloproteinases capable of degrading different extracellular matrix molecules, primarily, but not exclusively fibrillar collagens and elastin, are implicated in the pathogenesis of this disease.
