Novel antiinflammatory targets for asthma. A role for PPARgamma?

Abstract

The search for new treatments of asthma and related airway disorders is a continuing quest of pulmonologists, pharmacologists, and pharmaceutical industries documented from as early as 1600 BC (1). The approach of modern medicine has been to identify key procontractile compounds and mediators with the hope of obtaining antagonists to a major clinical outcome, namely the loss of respiratory volume (2). New approaches are needed because many of the current treatments (e.g., antileukotriene drugs, antihistamines, and steroids) are only effective in a portion of those afflicted with asthma and the side effects of these treatments have proved to be a formidable challenge (3, 4). More recently, it has been appreciated that inflammation plays a critical role in asthma, particularly the recruitment of specialized leukocytes, neutrophils, eosinophils, and lymphocytes to lung, and eventually to airways (5). Hence, one strategy may involve the identification of novel antiinflammatory agents that could dampen the clinical sequelae in various forms of asthma. It is in this context that we consider this perspective.