Protein Could Offer Target to Reduce Lung Damage from Smoking-Caused Emphysema, Indiana University Study

An international research team has identified a lung protein that appears to play a key role in smoking-related emphysema and have crafted an antibody to block its activity, Indiana University scientists reported. The research, conducted in mice, suggests that the protein, a cytokine named EMAPII, could provide a target for drugs to treat emphysema, said Irina Petrache, M.D., associate professor of medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine. The research was posted online May 16 for the June edition of The Journal of Clinical Investigation.