E-Mail IMAGE: Shown is a transmission electron microscope image of exosomes purified from fluid from the lungs of a patient with COPD. A new study from Washington University School of Medicine in... view more Credit: Deb Steinberg/WU Center for Cellular Imaging Inflammatory lung diseases such as asthma, COPD and, most recently, COVID-19, have proven difficult to treat. Current therapies reduce symptoms and do little to stop such diseases from continuing to damage the lungs. Much research into treating chronic inflammatory diseases has focused on blocking chemicals called cytokines, which trigger cascades of molecular events that fuel damaging inflammation. Now, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that such cytokines can drive inflammation in more ways than previously understood, perhaps revealing new routes to potential treatments for chronic inflammatory conditions.