New discovery paves way for new diagnosis of serious lung disease

WASHINGTON, March 2 (Chinese media) -- The discovery by Uppsala University

researchers of a previously unknown protein in the cells of the lower air ways

brings new potential for early diagnosis of a serious lung disease, according to

findings published on Monday in the online edition of the American journal

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The new discovery can also provide new knowledge of the cause of common

diseases like asthma and chronic bronchitis.

Researchers at Uppsala University and Uppsala University Hospital in Sweden

have identified a protein in the lungs that is important to the immune defense

system in an autoimmune lung disorder that is not seldom fatal.

The newly discovered protein, called KCNRG, occurs in cells in the lower

air ways found on the surface of the bronchia. This observation enables

researchers to study more closely the first phase of the autoimmune disease,

that is, when the immune system erroneously attacks the body's own tissues

instead of attacking foreign organisms like bacteria or viruses. The discovery

also provides new avenues for developing new diagnostic methods.

The researchers used an unusual hereditary autoimmune disorder, autoimmune

polyendocrine syndrome type 1 (APS-1), as a model. Patients with this disease

are afflicted by the immune system erroneously attacking several tissues, such

as the liver, insulin-producing cells, and adrenal glands.

"Only now have we understood that the lungs are attacked as well and that

in many cases this is the most serious component of the disease APS-1," says Dr.

Mohammad Alimohammadi.

"It's our hope that the discovery of the protein that the immune system

targets, besides making early diagnosis possible, will also be possible to use

in understanding the mechanism behind the occurrence of common public health

disorders like asthma and chronic bronchitis," said the researcher.