AUTHOR=Bai Shuang , Zhao Li TITLE=Imbalance Between Injury and Defense in the COPD Emphysematous Phenotype JOURNAL=Frontiers in Medicine VOLUME=8 YEAR=2021 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2021.653332 DOI=10.3389/fmed.2021.653332 ISSN=2296-858X ABSTRACT=

The chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) emphysematous phenotype is characterized by destruction of lung tissue structure. Patients with this phenotype usually present with typical emphysema-like changes on chest computed Tomography CT, experience higher mortality and poorer prognosis, and are insensitive to routine pharmacological COPD therapy. However, the pathogenesis for the COPD emphysematous phenotype remains unclear, resulting in diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. The imbalance between injury and defense mechanisms is essential in the progression of many pulmonary diseases. Thus, in this review, we focus on the pathogenesis of the COPD emphysematous phenotype and discuss the pathophysiological processes involved in disease progression, from the perspective of injury and defense imbalance.