A Promising Biomarker for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

摘要

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is now the third leading cause of death in the United States. There is a lack of therapies that can stop progression of the disease and improve survival. New drug discovery can be aided by the development of biomarkers, which can act as indicators of severity in the course of the disease and responses to therapy. Elastin is a recognized target for injury in COPD, and desmosine and Isodesmosine (DES/IDS), which are specific for elastin degradation, are elevated in COPD. This study is to develop a standardized LC-MS/MS method for accurate measurement of DES and IDS in all body fluids as biomarkers for in vivo degradation of matrix tissue elastin in man and animals.