Grant: CIHR Fellowship

Asthma is an incurable respiratory disease that affects more than 300 million people worldwide, casting a heavy economic and social burden. Allergic asthma is the most common form of asthma. It is caused by chronic lung inflammation, which can flare up to sudden asthma attacks. It is generally thought that asthma patients first become sensitized by inhaled allergens, and repeated exposures to the same allergens cause allergic inflammation in the lung. This is a consequence of the ability of allergen-specific lymphocytes to acquire "memory" and react stronger when they see the same allergen again. Our previous research has identified a new type of lymphocyte called ILC2 that is essential for allergic inflammation in the lung. Unlike conventional lymphocytes, ILC2s belong to the innate immune system and they do not recognize specific allergens. However, our recent results show that ILC2s have the capacity to acquire "memory" function. The goal of my research is to find out how 'memory' ILC2s are generated and whether they are responsible for exacerbated allergic response to a broad range of allergens. The results to be obtained by this research would explain why sometimes it is not possible to identify the causative allergen and also why asthma vaccines are not always effective. The knowledge of memory ILC2 may lead to the development of novel therapies for chronic asthma.