
Researchers at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and Cincinnati Children’s released the results of a recent study that identified a molecule key to asthma and could be targeted for treatment in the future.
Senior author Satish Madala, PhD, of the university’s division of pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine, said in a press release that “the study has implications beyond asthma because it is looking at what happens in a smooth muscle cell which is present around our airways, blood vessels and other organs.” A common, chronic airway inflammatory disease, asthma affects more than 300 million people worldwide.
According to the study, blocking one specific molecule through genetic manipulation in animals led to a dramatic reduction in the narrowing of airways without affecting other key asthma features like inflammation and mucus production. Targeting that molecule could potentially provide a new approach to treating airway obstruction without impacting other aspects of the disease.
Although this study is considered early-stage research, it could open the door to additional studies treatment efficacy, Dr. Madala said.
“Our findings identify a distinct pathway contributing to airway hyperresponsiveness, independent of classic inflammatory processes,” Dr. Madala said in the press release. “At this point, there is a lot more research that needs to be done to see how this new molecule is performing its function in increasing the calcium elevation in the smooth muscle cells making those cells contract more aggressively. If that interaction or process can be interrupted, then probably we can reduce how violently these smooth muscle cells react in these airways. If this is the one that can be manipulated and mitigated to cause that increase, then it can provide a great health care outcome.”