A new study published in the journal Science Immunology highlights new ways to treat seasonal asthma. Researchers at Indiana University School of Medicine, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, have studied it.Also read – Diet for weight loss? What Your Nutritionist Doesn’t Tell You!
“There is no cure for asthma and current treatments focus primarily on symptomatic resolution,” said Ben Ulrich, PhD, lead author of the study. “While spending time at the high-risk asthma clinic at Riley Hospital for Children, I noticed that many patients had a more intermittent course of the disease. We went to the lab and developed models to more accurately define allergic memory and remember the response in the lungs. Also read – Vitamin C: Complete the immune gap for non-communicable diseases
When a person with seasonal or intermittent asthma breathes in an allergen, they may have symptoms such as wheezing, coughing and, in severe cases, the severity of the asthma or hospitalization. These symptoms are caused by inflammation, constriction of the respiratory tract and production of saliva. Also read – Can Tuberculosis Lead to Skin Problems? Explains a dermatologist
Once exposed to seasonal allergens, including pollen, fungi, or other allergens that are prevalent only at certain times of the year, antigen-presenting cells activate CD4-positive T-cells to secrete cytokines, which trigger an inflammatory cascade. . The team looked at a cytokine called interleukin 9 (IL-9) to see how it affects allergic memory responses.
They found a unique population of memory CD4 T-cells that produced IL-9, IL-5 and IL-13. These cells secrete IL-9 in an antigen-specific way. Furthermore, these cells express ST2, which is an IL-33 receptor, and exhibit an extended IL-9 production in the presence of allergen-specific IL-33.
Blockade of IL-9 reduced the expression of some of the genes involved in the production of saliva in epithelial cells. This led to a decrease in CD4 T-cells and B-cells and a change in the expression of activation markers on microphages.
“Asthma exists in multiple forms and can be very different from other forms of seasonal or intermittent asthma due to chronic exposure to allergens,” said Mark Kaplan, PhD, chair of the IU School of Medicine at the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. . “Studies show that targeting IL-9 in the lungs during seasonal allergies can help with pneumonia. By focusing on the population of memory cells that mediate allergic recall responses to the lungs, we can develop new targets for treatment.
(With inputs by ANI)
