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Using the Body’s Own Regulatory Cells to Control Asthma
Asthma comes in different varieties, but it commonly involves the body’s immune system. Asthma can flare up when the immune system in the lungs is activated in response to inhaling allergens, such as pollens or house dust. If this response could be suppressed, asthma might then be blocked. Dr. Atkinson has discovered a small group of white blood cells and their secreted products that can suppress the immune system. He is studying their role in asthma with the hope that he can manipulate these cells to suppress asthma attacks, thus using the body’s own regulator systems to control asthma. - John P. Atkinson, M.D. Washington University St. Louis
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An Unusual Set of White Blood Cells May Regulate Asthma
Dr. Bendelac has pioneered the study of a small subset of white blood cells, called NKT cells, that are part of the immune system. He is investigating how NKT cells affect asthma, with the goal of using them as targets for new drug therapies. One hypothesis is that NKT cells play a particular role in recognizing pollens, setting off an immune response that results in asthma. To test this hypothesis, Dr. Bendelac is collaborating with a past Awardee from the University of Chicago, Daphne Preuss. Neither Dr. Bendelac nor Dr. Preuss had previously studied asthma; their Awards brought them into the field as well as together in their studies. - Albert Bendelac, M.D., Ph.D. University of Chicago
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Reversing Our Thinking about ‘Beta Blockers’ in Asthma
People with asthma are cautioned never to take “beta blockers”, drugs that are used to treat high blood pressure and heart failure. This is because typical doses of beta blockers make asthma worse — sometimes much worse. In fact, a common treatment for asthma is the use of drugs, such as salmeterol, that have the opposite effect of beta blockers. Dr. Bond, however, is testing the unusual hypothesis that starting with low doses of beta blockers, used continuously, may relieve asthma symptoms in the long term. There is precedent for this unusual approach in heart failure, where it was once thought that beta blockers should never be given. Now they are a mainstay of therapy for hear failure. - Richard Bond, Ph.D. University of Houston
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New Classes of Allergens in Asthma
In studies of the asthmatic response to allergens such as pollens or house dust, scientists have largely focused on proteins that stimulate an allergic response. Dr. Brenner is exploring the possibility that lipids (fats) and carbohydrates (sugars) can also act as allergens to trigger an asthmatic episode. One such allergen may be a hydrocarbon that is widely used in making plastics and that is consequently commonly found in indoor environments as well as in automobiles. If this proves to be a stimulus to asthma, it might help to explain why asthma has been on the rise across the industrialized world. - Michael Brenner, M.D. Harvard Medical School
