Protease-armed, Pathogenic Extracellular Vesicles Link Smoking and COPD.

These studies demonstrate the capacity of CS to drive the generation of unique EV populations containing NE and MMP-12. The coordinated action of these EVs is completely sufficient to drive emphysematous disease, and their presence could operate as a prognostic indicator for COPD development. Furthermore, given the robust capacity of these EVs to elicit emphysema in naïve mice, they provide a novel model to facilitate pre-clinical COPD research. Indeed, the development of this model has led to the discovery of a previously unrecognized CS-induced protective mechanism against EV-mediated damage.