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In the asthmatic lung structural changes, such as increased deposition of proteins which form the scaffolding of the airways (the extracellular matrix proteins), and an increased mass of bronchial smooth muscle cells occur. Many of these critical structural changes are not reversed or prevented with current asthma therapy, thus we need to investigate, by using lung cells and tissues , why they happen and how we can prevent them.
Understanding And Controlling Remodelling In Pulmonary Fibrosis And Asthma
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$431,839.00
Summary
The development of scar tissue is a normal response to tissue injury. When airway and lung tissue is injured by exposure to irritants, scarring greatly diminishes the function of the lung to allow transfer of oxygen to the tissue. In severe disease, the scarring may be fatal. We discovered that two factors involved in formation of scar tissue neutralise each other's effects. We are examining this interaction in human lung to develop new treatments for scarring-related lung diseases.
Mechanisms Of Airway Narrowing In Eosinophilic And Non-eosinophilic Asthma
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$500,593.00
Summary
Asthma is associated with excessive airway narrowing, increased thickness of the airway wall and inflammation, most typically with eosinophils. However, 50% of cases have few eosinophils and respond less well to current treatments. This project will examine differences in airway structure between patients with or without eosinophils, using post-mortem tissue, as part of an international research collaboration.
Currently in Australia asthma prevalence is high compared with other countries, affecting 10%–12% of adults and 14%–16% of children. This project will determine the contribution of mast cells to the altered function of airway smooth muscle cells and identify how non asthmatic airway smooth muscle inhibits mast cell localisation to it. The findings will provide new targets for asthma therapies and a pathway for prevention strategies, which up until now have been unsuccessful.
Increased Airway Smooth Muscle Mass As An Independent Determinant Of Asthma Pathogenesis And Severity
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$409,966.00
Summary
Asthma is a major health burden to the community. The most common form of the disease is allergic asthma and it is thought that allergic inflammation drives associated airway abnormalities including increased airway smooth muscle (ASM) mass. This study tests a new hypothesis that airway abnormalities and allergy have separate origins but combine to produce allergic asthma, and it’s the individuals with the greatest amount of ASM who develop clinically severe asthma.
Heterogeneity Of Airway Smooth Muscle Remodelling In Asthma
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$623,078.00
Summary
Increased smooth muscle in the airways causes excessive narrowing and asthma symptoms. The distribution of the increased muscle in the lung varies between people with asthma and may determine how severe the asthma is and what treatments are best. This project will use tissues from many cases of asthma to map this distribution and will use laser scanning in the airways to develop a test to safely examine the smooth muscle in living people, in order to better treat or prevent asthma.
Epithelial-Mesenchymal Cell Communication; Towards New Therapeutic Targets For Fibrosis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$794,596.00
Summary
Fibrosis causes disability and death with millions of people affected each year. Current treatments are limited and there is a need to better understand the changes that drive fibrosis. In this study we will investigate how cells communicate to initiate and drive fibrosis. Using readily available drugs we will test new ways to alter cell communication to stop the disease and thus, develop a common and effective therapy that will change the future for people living with fibrosis.