Redefining Approaches to Asthma: Bridging the Gap Between Heparin and Its Anti-inflammatory Activities

Heparin is widely used as an anticoagulant. Currently, this macromolecule is at the forefront in the field of glycobiology because of the recognition of its therapeutic potential in a wide range of medical conditions including inflammation. Heparin is composed of anticoagulant and non-anticoagulant molecules. A large body of evidence suggests that the anti-inflammatory activities of heparin are attributed to its non-anticoagulant molecules and are therefore independent to its anticoagulant effect. However, the potential therapeutic use of heparin in inflammatory conditions is hindered by the presence of anticoagulant molecules causing the risk of bleeding. Therefore, there is an emerging interest in identifying non-anticoagulant molecules of heparin responsible for the anti-inflammatory effects of the parent molecule. The present editorial commentary focuses on the non-anticoagulant applications of heparin for the management of asthma. The commentary concisely describes the plausible mechanisms of action of heparin involved in the therapy of asthma. It also discusses various approaches that are utilised for the development of novel non-anticoagulant analogues of heparin that possess the potent anti-asthmatic activity of the parent molecule but are devoid of anticoagulant effect. We also briefly outline potential future approaches for the use of this molecule as an effective anti-inflammatory agent.