Targeting the Physiological Factors of Asthma

Link to the article can be found HERE.

As a person who suffers from asthma, I can’t help but be interested in any up-and-coming research involving how to prevent or treat the disease.   I have always had to carry a rescue inhaler on my person in case of an unexpected attack, which can be a pain at times. While there are medications out there today that treat the symptoms, like corticosteroids (for inflammation), it would be nice to see a treatment developed that targets the cause and can help improve lung function in individuals like me.  By understanding the physiology behind asthma attacks, we are getting closer and closer to seeing improved treatments become reality. 

In papers recently published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of the Sciences (PNAS), scientists from UCSF, Johns Hopkins University, and Duke University demonstrated that TMEM16A, a specific calcium-activated chloride channel, could hold clues in reducing some of the processes that contribute to the severity of asthma.

As it turns out, humans normally have relatively few mucus-producing cells lining the tubes to the lungs, but asthma sufferers have elevated numbers of these cells, as well as a hyperplasia of airway smooth muscle cells (ASM) in this region.   Together these factors are what generate the two most common symptoms of asthma: mucus hypersecretion and ASM hyperresponsiveness.

Studies have shown that the transmembrane protein known as TMEM16A is a calcium-activated chloride channel (CaCC) which holds an increased expression in asthmatics.  In other words, TMEM16A is activated specifically by an increase in intracellular calcium and plays a role in these unwanted processes.  Because the molecular identity of this protein was unknown until recently, research is still in the early stages.  This means that the development of CaCC-targeted therapies at this point is limited; however, as research progresses, it may prove beneficial in the development of better strategies for managing asthma.