Grant: Project Grant

Asthma is a bronchial disease characterized by inflammation and changes in the structure of the bronchi. These changes are termed airway remodeling. The bronchi is layered with cells that protect the airways, these cells are called epithelial cells. Our studies and those of others have shown that structure and function of epithelial cells are changed in asthma. We showed that these changes are related to a bad communication with neighbouring cells. These adjacent cells release vesicles that contain small molecules called microRNA and cytokines. In this grant application we propose to study communication between cells through theses vesicle derived products and their role in modifying the function of epithelial cells. The demonstration of the role of these molecules on epithelial function may open potential therapeutic use of these vesicles as therapeutic delivery system.