Lipid metabolism in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Abstract

Dysregulated lipid metabolism plays crucial roles in various diseases, including diabetes mellitus, cancer, and neurodegeneration. Recent studies suggest that alterations in major lipid metabolic pathways contribute to pathogenesis of lung diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). These changes allow lung tissue to meet the energy needs and trigger anabolic pathways that initiate the synthesis of active molecules directly involved in the inflammation. In this review, we summarize the changes of catabolism and anabolism of lipids, lipid molecules including lipid mediators, lipid synthesis transcription factors, cholesterol, and phospholipids, and how those lipid molecules participate in the initiation and resolution of inflammation in COPD.

Keywords:

• COPD
• lipid metabolism
• airway inflammation

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (Grant 2016YFA0501602 to ZC) and the Major and General Projects from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant 81670031 to ZC).

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.