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INIZIO_TESTO_DA_INDICIZZARE

RESEARCH PROGRAM

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Research Units
Similar research programs:
Scientific and education field classification
International Patent Classification
  • HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
      • ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; CARE OF BIRDS, FISHES, INSECTS; FISHING; REARING OR BREEDING ANIMALS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; NEW BREEDS OF ANIMALS
    • MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
      • PREPARATIONS FOR MEDICAL, DENTAL, OR TOILET PURPOSES (bringing into special physical form A61J [N: mechanical aspects]; chemical aspects of, or use of materials for deodorisation of air, for disinfection or sterilisation, or for bandages, dressings, absorbent pads or surgical articles A61L; compounds per se C01, C07, C08, C12N; soap compositions C11D; micro-organisms per se C12N) [C0203]
Geographical classification
Keywords
ASTHMA; ALLERGEN; AIRWAY INFLAMMATION; ALLERGIC SENSITIZATION; ATOPY; CYTOKINES; CHEMOKINES; LEUKOTRIENES

Susceptibility and activation mechanisms of tissue and cellular response induced by the antigen in asthma

Università degli Studi di Catania
Abstract
Asthma is a complex disorder characterised by airway chronic inflammation, airflow obstruction, which is reversible either spontaneously or in response to pharmacological treatment, and bronchial hyperresponsiveness to a large variety of bronchoconstrictive stimuli.A number of cells and mediators partecipate to the inflammatory process of airways.
Aim of the study will be to investigate some of the mechanisms inducing bronchial inflammation in patients with asthma. In particular it will be assessed the complex interaction among different stimuli such as allergens and isocianates and the role of the immune system, bronchial epithelium and smooth muscle.

Principal Investigator
Giuseppe DI MARIA Università degli Studi di CATANIA
Research Objectives
Aim of the study is to investigate some of the mechanisms inducing bronchial inflammation in patients with asthma. In particular it will be assessed the complex interaction among different stimuli such as allergens, isocianates and infection and the role of the immune system, bronchial epithelium and smooth muscle
The role of allergens and their components in priming of T cells and determining their shift towards Th1 or Th2 phenotypes in experimental animals and humans will be clarified.The role of sfingosine in contracting/relaxing activity of airway smooth muscle will be characterised. Levels and changes of leukotrienes, cytokines and chemokines in the airways will be characterized either during clinical stability or at exacerbation, and will be related to the pharmacological treatment.

Timescale
24 months
National and international background
Asthma is a complex disorder characterised by airway chronic inflammation, reversible airflow obstruction, either spontaneously or in response to pharmacological treatment, and bronchial hyperresponsiveness to a large variety of bronchoconstrictive stimuli. Signs and symptoms characterising the clinical picture of this disease are the direct consequence of airway inflammation/obstruction, thus their severity may vary strikingly. For similar reasons, the consequences of asthma on pulmonary function may be also different. Thus asthma is a variable, heterogeneous disease caused by a number of factors both genetic and environmental that act together in determining the occurrence of the disease and its severity. Despite many studies on asthma have helped in understanding the pathogenesis, and improving treatment of the disease, in recent years the prevalence of asthma has increased steadily. Nowadays, due to its high prevalence asthma represents one of the most challenging disease for the health costs afforded by many westernised countries.
Cells and mediators participate to airway inflammation in asthma, often interacting throughout mechanisms that are largely unknown or incompletely understood and that contribute to initiate and maintain the inflammatory process. A number of studies have demonstrated that lymphocytes, eosinophils, mast cells, and airway epithelium all play a prominent role in this process. It is now widely accepted that following the recognition >>>