Cigarette
smoke induces injury and neutrophilic
inflammation in the airways of smokers. The stability and activity of inflammatory effectors,
IL8 and
neutrophil elastase (NE), can be prolonged by binding to airway
heparan sulfate (HS)/
syndecan-1, posing risk for developing
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(
COPD). We hypothesize that antagonizing HS/
syndecan-1 binding of the inflammatory effectors could reduce smoking-related neutrophil-mediated airway
inflammation. Analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid(BALF) of
COPD patients found both total and unopposed NE levels to be significantly higher among smokers with
COPD than non-
COPD subjects. Similar NE burden was observed in
smoke-exposed rats compared to
sham air controls. We chose sulfated-
maltoheptaose(SM), a
heparin-mimetic, to antagonize HS/sydecan-1 binding of the inflammatory mediators in airway fluids and lung tissues of the
smoke-exposed rat model. Airway treatment with SM resulted in displacement of CINC-1 and NE from complexation with bronchio-epithelial HS/
syndecan-1, dissipating the
chemokine gradient for neutrophil flux across to the bronchial lumen. Following SM displacement of NE from shed HS/
syndecan-1 in bronchial fluids, NE became accessible to inhibition by α1-antitrypsin endogenous in test samples. The antagonistic actions of SM against
syndecan-1 binding of NE and CINC-1 in
smoke-exposed airways suggest new therapeutic opportunities for modulating airway
inflammation in smokers with SM delivery.