Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

Ambient air pollution is known to have negative impacts on respiratory health, especially in asthmatics. On smoggy days, the number of emergency visits and hospital admissions for asthma exacerbation increases dramatically. The biological mechanisms by which this happens are largely unknown. In our laboratory, we investigate how air pollution can affect the regulation of a group of gene that is important in asthma control. These gene-regulating mechanisms are called "epigenetic mechanisms". We observe marked dysregulations in this group of genes upon exposure to air pollution. These findings show a direct impact of air pollution on such epigenetic mechanisms. This opens the way to a new area of investigation for the impacts of air pollution on the health of at-risk populations such as asthmatics. Elaborating upon the mechanisms of the impact of air pollution on asthma will better define, and ultimately protect, at-risk populations. This suggests a novel angle by which diesel exhaust may affect asthmatic airways. Understanding the mechanisms of harm is the first essential step in the path that leads to strategies to protect individuals. These findings will be made public in national and international conferences as well as peer-reviewed journals and available to regulating agencies like Heath Canada. And will ultimately be influential in public health policies.