Brief Communication abstract


Nature Medicine 13, 567 - 569 (2007)
Published online: 22 April 2007 | doi:10.1038/nm1583

Antielastin autoimmunity in tobacco smoking–induced emphysema

Seung-Hyo Lee1, Sangeeta Goswami2, Ariel Grudo1, Li-zhen Song1, Venkata Bandi1, Sheila Goodnight-White1, Linda Green3, Joan Hacken-Bitar4, Joseph Huh5,6, Faisal Bakaeen5,6, Harvey O Coxson7, Sebastian Cogswell7, Claudine Storness-Bliss7, David B Corry1,2 & Farrah Kheradmand1,2

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Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and emphysema are common destructive inflammatory diseases that are leading causes of death worldwide. Here we show that emphysema is an autoimmune disease characterized by the presence of antielastin antibody and T-helper type 1 (TH1) responses, which correlate with emphysema severity. These findings link emphysema to adaptive immunity against a specific lung antigen and suggest the potential for autoimmune pathology of other elastin-rich tissues such as the arteries and skin of smokers.

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  1. Department of Medicine, Section of Pulmonary and Critical Care, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.
  2. Department of Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.
  3. Department of Pathology, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.
  4. Department of Radiology, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.
  5. Department of Surgery, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.
  6. Department of Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.
  7. Department of Radiology, Vancouver General Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia V6Z 1Y6, Canada.

Correspondence to: Farrah Kheradmand1,2 e-mail: farrahk@bcm.tmc.edu

Correspondence to: David B Corry1,2 e-mail: dcorry@bcm.tmc.edu



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