Grant: Catalyst Grant: Sex as a Variable in Biomedical Research

Asthma is the most common chronic respiratory disease. It is characterized by inflammation in the lungs and narrowing of the airways, which makes it difficult to breathe. Nearly 3 million Canadians suffer from asthma, and the direct and indirect cost related to asthma in Canada is around $2.2 billion annually. On average, adult females experience greater disease severity and are more likely to develop resistance to the available steroid therapies. As a result, they are more likely to have uncontrolled asthma compared to males. However, we do not understand the reasons for these differences between females and males. In order to develop better treatment strategies for asthma, we need to understand why these differences occur, and that means we must examine the cells and molecules that are found in the female lung following allergen exposure to see how this differs from males. In this study, we will identify the cellular and molecular changes that occur in the lungs following exposure to a common allergen, and assess how these changes differ between females and males. This work will employ both mouse models of asthma and direct human studies. This information will be an essential resource for future drug development studies as we work to find new ways to provide relief to the millions that suffer from this debilitating disease. If we understand why the disease develops differently in females and males, or why they respond differently to current therapies, it will help to identify new avenues of study (based on the identified molecular differences) as we work to devise new treatment regimens. It is entirely possible that we will need to develop sex-specific treatment protocols to provide the most comprehensive and efficient care for asthma sufferers. The proposed two year research project will lay the foundation for a future of asthma therapy research that recognises the importance of taking sex into account when thinking about asthma disease process and treatment.