Finding a cure for asthma is one step closer after scientists identified a way to target a cell type that causes the chronic disease that affects an estimated 300 million people worldwide and kills 250,000 annually.
The team of researchers led by a molecular immunologists at the University of Southern California discovered molecules that could stop the lymphoid cells called ILC2s that trigger primary asthma symptoms such as mucus production and hypersensitive airways, Science Daily reports.
Asthma is a chronic lung disease that irritates and narrows the airways and, for the moment, has no known cure. Actually, the only goal of asthma treatment used by millions of sufferers is to control the symptoms. The exact causes of this chronic disease are unknown, but researchers believe a combination of genetic and environmental factors contribute to developing asthma. However, scientists discovered in the last decade type 2 innate lymphoid cells, or ILC2s, that trigger the symptoms.
“If we can target ILC2s, we might be able to cure asthma or exacerbation caused by these particular cells,” said Omid Akbari, associate professor of molecular and cellular immunology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and principal investigator of the study.
“In this study, we discovered molecules critical to ILC2 homeostasis, survival and function. We believe that targeting these molecules or related pathways could one day cure a patient with ILC2-dependent asthma.”
Akbari’s team developed a humanized mouse model to show how human ILC2s function and this is currently being used to study how ILC2s contribute to human asthma and test potential therapies in preclinical studies.
An estimated 300 million people worldwide suffer from asthma, with 250,000 annual deaths attributed to the disease. It is believed that the number of people with asthma will grow by more than 100 million by 2025, the workplace conditions, such as exposure to fumes, gases or dust, being responsible for 11% of asthma cases worldwide. Also, occupational asthma contributes significantly to the global burden of asthma, since the condition accounts for approximately 15% of asthma among adults.