A 60-year-old white man presents for evaluation of progressive dyspnea. He is a former
smoker with a 20-pack-year smoking history and a 10-year history of chronic obstructive …

Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) have recently been discovered as a central part of
antimicrobial innate immunity. In the meanwhile, evidence accumulated that NETs are also …

α-1 anti-trypsin (AAT) is the most abundant circulating serine protease inhibitor (serpin) and
an acute phase reactant. Systemic deficiency in AAT (AATD) due to genetic mutations can …

Neutrophil serine proteases cathepsin G (CG), neutrophil elastase (NE), and proteinase 3
(PR3) have recently been shown to contribute to killing of Streptococcus pneumoniae in …

α1-antitrypsin (α1-AT) is a 52 kDa sialoglycoprotein. The function of α1-antitrypsin is to
protect the lower respiratory tract of lungs from proteolytic degradation by neutrophil …

Abstract Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) is a genetic condition that can lead to early-
onset chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The objective of this study was to …

Abstract Background Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) may be important in the
progression of emphysema, but there have been few longitudinal clinical studies of MMP-9 …

Background: Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) is an often-overlooked genetic condition
that makes individuals susceptible to early onset of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease …

Lung macrophages present an effective role in innate and immune response through
specific and non-specific mechanisms, namely phagocytosis, antigen processing and …

Serine protease inhibitors (serpins) are a large protein family that is involved in various
physiological processes and is known to regulate innate immunity pathways. However …