Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the respiratory system. Asthma is characterised by the inflammation of the smooth muscle of the lungs, overproduction of mucous in the lower airways and the constriction of the airways (making it difficult to breathe). Asthma is caused by a complex immunological overreaction to allergens that have entered the airways. Asthma effects over 300 million people worldwide, and with over 450,000 of them being Irish. Ireland spends over €500 million on asthma treatment and care annually.
A portion of asthmatics are unable to be treated effectively by existing treatments as some patients do not respond to the available drugs. This puts these patients at great risk as an allergic response could cause permanent airway problems and potentially even death.
A cell therapy called Mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC)-therapy may pose as a potential treatment option to these asthmatics as this therapy may reduce the inflammatory response and airway remodelling in asthma patients, even those who don’t respond to existing Asthma drugs. The development of novel therapeutic approaches are required as asthma’s prevalence will only increase globally over time, and as a result there must be an inclusive cohort of treatments available to all patients that require them.
This research project aims to understand how the asthma microenvironment influences MSC ability to calm the overreactive immune system, promote wound healing and reduce airway remodelling (changes in lung structure and function).