Editorial
Adriana Lopes da Silva1,2,3, Luisa Andrade Silva1,3, Fernanda Ferreira Cruz1,3, Patricia Rieken Macedo Rocco1,3, Marcelo Marcos Morales2,3
1Laboratory of Pulmonary Investigation, 2Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; 3Rede NanoSaúde, Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, BrazilCorrespondence to: Marcelo Marcos Morales. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Avenida Carlos Chagas Filho 373, Bloco G – 014, Cidade Universitária, Rio de Janeiro – RJ, Brasil. Email: marcelo.morales@mctic.gov.br.
Asthma, is a very prevalent chronic pulmonary disease, affecting over 230 million people worldwide, with available treatments limited to symptoms relief (1). Considering this serious world situation, Wang et al. highlighted the nanotechnology related to delivery of drugs or biological materials, reducing side toxic effects, increasing drug bioavailability, thus improving asthma treatment. However, in this editorial comment, we summarize the challenges that need to be overcome to nanotherapy become pertinent in clinical practice.
This respiratory pathology is characterized by a chronic inflammation of the lower airways, triggered by environmental antigens, in the presence (atopic asthma) or absence (allergic asthma) of a genetic predisposition (2). In general, these immune responses lead to airway hyperreactivity, progressive extracellular matrix changes (i.e., lung collagen deposition), and airflow limitation (3,4).
Despite advances in understanding the pathophysiology of asthma, improvements in diagnosis, and the introduction of new therapies—phosphodiesterase inhibitors, long-acting bronchodilators, anti-IgE monoclonal antibody, and leukotriene inhibitors—asthma remains incurable and a major public health problem, without signs of declining prevalence (5–7). Although the first-line treatment of choice is corticosteroid therapy, alone or in combination with β2-adrenergic agonists, these medications cannot modify disease progression. In Vol 7 No 8 of Annals of Translational Medicine, Wang et al. suggested that these treatments have limited efficacy due to the heterogeneity and complexity of asthma. Therefore, alternative therapeutic strategies are needed to mitigate both inflammatory and remodeling processes in different asthma phenotypes, improving lung function without leading to adverse events, such as immunosuppression…..