Grant: Project Grant

According to the World Health Organization, asthma is now a serious public health problem with over 300 million sufferers worldwide, including children. Approximately, 500 Canadians die from asthma each year. The high prevalence and increasing mortality due to asthma have focused research on the elucidation of its pathogenesis. Asthma is a chronic disease of the lungs, in which patients struggle to breathe due to excessive narrowing of airways and mucus production. In recent years, research is being pursued to understand how a person develops asthma. Efforts are also being made to identify suitable therapies to treat asthma. In our lab, we have found that severe asthma patients have higher level of a new protein called PTX3 in their airways. However its precise role in asthma is unknown. Therefore, our goal is to understand how PTX3 is involved in the development of asthma and whether PTX3 can be used as a treatment to ameliorate asthma patients symptoms. Results from our study will add critical information in understanding the etiology of asthma and possible therapeutic potential of this new protein.