Medics have found a new way to cure allergic asthma
Allergic asthma can be fought with the help of Piezo1 protein, which does not allow allergens to affect the immune cells of the lungs. This discovery was made by specialists from the USA.
Allergic asthma is a chronic disease of the respiratory tract, in which allergens cause attacks of suffocation. One way to eliminate these symptoms is a double vaccination, acting simultaneously against a pair of immune signaling molecules. With its help, doctors were able to protect mice from allergic asthma for at least 11 weeks.
Researchers from the University of Southern California have identified a new method that could be a novel therapeutic approach to reducing lung inflammation and treating allergic asthma. They found that the Piezo1 protein prevents immune cells in the lungs from being hyperactivated when exposed to allergens. The results of the corresponding study were published by the Journal of Experimental Medicine.
In allergic asthma, ILC2 immune cells (innate lymphoid cells of the second type) are activated by allergens and cause inflammation. If this process is not controlled, inflammation can become excessive and the asthma patient's airways narrow.
The researchers found that ILC2 cells that are affected by an allergen begin to produce a protein called Piezo1 that can limit their activity. This protein forms channels in the outer membranes of the cell that open in response to mechanical changes in the environment. Through the channels Piezo1 in the cell penetrates calcium, under the influence of which the nature of its activity changes.
Scientists conducted an experiment involving mice. Without the Piezo1 protein, the immune cells of the animals, reacting to the allergen, were activated more strongly than usual. At the same time, the mice became more inflamed airways. When the researchers used a drug that stimulated the appearance of Piezo1 protein channels, ILC2 activity decreased. As a consequence, airway inflammation decreased and other symptoms of allergic asthma were relieved.
According to the authors of the scientific paper, Piezo1 affected the metabolism of immune cells because it decreased the function of mitochondria - the "energy stations". As a result, the cells' energy source changed.
The scientists noted that for humans, this way of fighting allergic asthma could also be effective. They proved this by replacing the immune cells of mice with human ILC2 cells. These cells also produced the Piezo1 protein when the mice were injected with a drug that stimulates this process.