Sugarcoating Lung Injury: A Novel Role for High-Molecular-Weight Hyaluronan in Pneumonia

Garantziotis and Matalon reflect on the novel role of high-molecular-weight hyaluronan in pneumonia. Acute respiratory distress syndrome /acute lung injury (ALI) remains a severe sepsis and severe complication of pneumonia. Despite decades of clinical treatment trials, and active research, pharmacological treatment is still lacking. The traditional pneumonic treatment has been to focus on the microbial component and use antibiotics for treatment. Also cited is the study by Liu and colleagues that examines the significance of extracellular vesicles (EVs) on the initiation and propagation of ALI.