MicroRNAs as future therapeutic targets in COPD?

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) represents a major cause of chronic morbidity and mortality, affecting more than 200 million people worldwide and leading to approximately 3 million deaths each year. COPD is mainly caused by cigarette smoking and is characterised by a chronic inflammation leading to obstruction of the small airways and destruction of lung parenchyma (emphysema). Therapies that slow down the accelerated decline in lung function in patients with COPD are still lacking. Therefore, it is essential to unravel the mechanistic processes that underlie the inflammatory reaction and subsequent structural changes in COPD [1]. What obstacles need to be negotiated before microRNA-based therapeutics can be used in COPD?