Elucidation of the new mechanism of pulmonary emphysema: the prevention of the onset and progress followed by the development of the new therapeutic drug

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26670628
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Respiratory surgery
• Research Institution: Hiroshima University
• Principal Investigator: Okada Morihito 広島大学, 原爆放射線医科学研究所, 教授 (70446045)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 肺気腫 / 質量分析 / CADM1

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Cell adhesion molecule 1 (CADM1) is a lung epithelial cell adhesion molecule in the immunoglobulin superfamily. It generates two membrane associated C terminal fragments (CTFs), αCTF and βCTF, through protease mediated ectodomain shedding.
We explored the hypothesis that more CADM1-CTFs are generated in emphysematous lungs through enhanced ectodomain shedding, and cause increased apoptosis of alveolar epithelial cells.
CADM1 ectodomain shedding appeared to cause alveolar cell apoptosis in emphysematous lungs by producing αCTF that accumulated in mitochondria. These data link proteolysis to apoptosis, which are two landmark events in emphysema.

Free Research Field

呼吸器外科学