Researchers have identified a new cause explaining the damage caused by asthma to the airways, which could be the target of treatment.
- The major hallmark of asthma is bronchoconstriction, a mechanical contraction of the muscles around the bronchi that can lead to severe breathing difficulties and excessive secretion of mucus production into the airways.
- But above all, this bronchoconstriction leads to the death of the so-called epithelial cells, which line the respiratory tract, which in turn promotes inflammation.
- Researchers have discovered that it is possible in mice, using a candidate drug, to inhibit the process of destruction of epithelial cells, and thus mechanically reduce inflammation in the bronchi and lungs. Which could lead to new preventive treatments.
Wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath, tight chest… Asthma, which affects some six million people in France, is a very common respiratory disorder which, however, “the causes are still not understood.” “Current medications treat the consequences of an asthma attack by opening the airways, calming the inflammation and breaking up the sticky mucus that blocks them. This helps control asthma, but does not prevent it. “
But researchers from King’s College London have just made a discovery that could well be a game-changer in therapeutic terms. The idea, detailed in the review Science : prevent the consequences of an asthma attack rather than just treating its symptoms afterwards.
Asthma, a contraction of the airways that promotes inflammation
Although considered an inflammatory disease, the major characteristic of asthma is bronchoconstriction, a mechanical contraction of the muscles around the bronchi that can lead to severe breathing difficulties and excessive secretion of mucus production into the airways. . But above all, this bronchoconstriction leads to the death of the so-called epithelial cells, which line the respiratory tract, which in turn promotes inflammation – a vicious circle.
By studying mouse models and human lung tissue samples, researchers found that “bronchoconstriction causes pathological overcrowding of cells in the airway epithelium, triggering a process called cell extrusion that leads to damage to airway tissues,” can we read in a communicated. As a result, in both humans and mice, the functions of the epithelial barrier deteriorate, which “opens the way for further bronchoconstrictive attacks and inflammation.”
Treatment to prevent mechanical damage in asthma
However, the researchers found that it was possible in mice, thanks to a candidate drug that they developed, to inhibit the process of destruction of epithelial cells, and thus mechanically reduce inflammation in the bronchi and lungs. “Preventing the mechanical damage caused by an asthma attack, rather than just treating the inflammation, could pave the way for treatments that end the entire inflammatory cycle of asthma”conclude the authors, who are already planning new research to test this promising treatment.
