最近，一篇发表于国际杂志the American Journal of Respiratory Cell Molecular Biology上的研究论文中，来自耶鲁大学的研究人员通过研究发现，维生素A受体或可帮助机体的肺部组织抵御吸烟和病毒感染引发的损伤。
吸烟有害健康，尤其有害肺部健康这大家都知道，但仅有10%-20%的长期吸烟个体会患严重的影响呼吸的疾病，比如肺气肿和慢性阻塞性肺疾病(COPD)，为了揭示为何会出现这样的现象，研究人员就开展了这项研究来解释引发肺部健康直线下降的原因和分子机制。
文章中，研究者Charles S. Dela Cruz发现，维生素A的一种特殊形式—视黄酸在肺部发育及功能维护上扮演着重要作用；通过对小鼠模型进行研究，研究者表示，暴露在香烟烟雾中或可促进一 种名为IL-15的蛋白质明显减弱视黄酸受体的功能，而这种减弱作用也会被病毒感染所加剧，最后使得COPD患者的病情更加严重。
相关研究为科学家们开发新型策略来恢复视黄酸的保护功能，并且降低肺部损伤提供一定的帮助和思路，后期研究者将通过更为深入的研究来开发治疗肺气肿及COPD患者的新型靶向性疗法，为改善患者的生活质量带来帮助。、
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Interleukin-15 Regulates Retinoic Acid Receptor Beta in the Lung During Cigarette Smoking and Influenza Virus Infection
Jianmiao Wang , Wei Liu , Chad Marion , Rajvir Singh , Nathaniel Andrews , Chun Geun Lee , Jack A. Elias , and Charles S. Dela Cruz
Virus-induced exacerbations often lead to further impairment of lung function in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Interleukin (IL)-15 is critical in antiviral immune responses. Retinoic acid (RA) signaling plays an important role in tissue maintenance and repair, particularly in the lung. We studied RA signaling and its relation to IL-15 in the lung during cigarette smoke (CS) exposure and influenza virus infection. In vivo studies show that RA signaling is diminished by long-term CS exposure or influenza virus infection alone, which is further attenuated during infection following CS exposure. RA receptor β (RARβ) is specifically decreased in the lung of IL-15 transgenic (overexpression; IL-15Tg) mice, and a greater reduction in RARβ is found in these mice compared with wild type (WT) after infection. RARβ is increased in IL-15 knockout (IL-15KO) mice compared with WT after infection and the additive effect of CS and virus on RARβ downregulation is diminished in IL-15KO mice. IL-15 receptor α (IL-15Rα) is increased and RARβ is significantly decreased in lung interstitial macrophages from IL-15Tg mice compared with WT. In vitro studies show that IL-15 downregulates RARβ in macrophages via IL-15Rα signaling during influenza virus infection. These studies suggest that RA signaling is significantly diminished in the lung by CS exposure and influenza virus infection. IL-15 specifically downregulates RARβ expression and RARβ may play a protective role in lung injury caused by CS exposure and viral infections.
