Gene silencing of receptor-interacting protein 2 protects against cigarette smoke-induced acute lung injury.

Background And Purpose: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by progressive alveolar damage and generally irreversible airflow limitation. Nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) plays a critical role in COPD pathogenesis. Receptor-interacting protein 2 (Rip2), a 60 kDa adaptor protein, is a positive regulator of NF-κB pathway and also an inducible transcriptional product of NF-κB activation.