Grant: Chair: CIHR Sex and Gender Science Chair - Circulatory and Respiratory Health

Asthma is the most common chronic respiratory disease, resulting in lung inflammation and narrowing of airways making it difficult to breathe. Nearly 3 million Canadians suffer from asthma, and more than 10% of patients do not respond to available steroid therapies. These non-responders represent the major burden of asthma and account for annual healthcare costs of around $2B. Also, common steroid therapies can increase the risk of lung infections, which can make asthma worse. Adult females experience greater disease severity and are more likely to develop steroid-resistance, and thus are more likely to have uncontrolled asthma than males. These sex-related differences are largely ignored during drug development. New therapies are urgently needed that can alleviate steroid-unresponsive disease without compromising the ability to resolve infections. However, effective development of new treatments must consider the differences in disease and response to therapy between females and males. This study focuses on new molecules known as innate defence regulator (IDR) peptides, which can control both inflammation and infection. We have shown that IDR peptides improve breathing capacity in an animal model of asthma, and control cellular processes linked to steroid unresponsiveness. This project aims to develop IDR peptides as a new therapy for asthma, by examining the effects in both females and males concurrently. Our recent research has identified specific molecular differences following allergen exposure, which will be used to examine the biological effects of IDR peptides in females and males, in animal models of asthma and in human lung cells. This research will directly support the development of a new IDR peptide-based therapy for asthma, by taking into consideration how the treatment affects females and males. It is entirely possible that we will need to develop sex-specific treatment protocols to provide the most efficient care for asthma sufferers.