Asthma

It is well known that people with asthma have an increased sensitivity to environmental factors such as pollen and pollution which can trigger an inflammatory response in the lining of the lungs that can lead to changes in airway cells. These cellular changes can then put people at higher risk of triggering asthma symptoms from future contact with environmental factors.

Dr Rachel Clifford from the University of Nottingham was awarded a Medical Research Foundation-Asthma UK fellowship to understand how environmental factors change the gene expression by altering markers (methylation) on an individual’s DNA in airway smooth muscle cells leading to tightening of the airways and additional inflammation in the lung.

The research is aimed at understanding new ways in which environmental factors drive chronic airway inflammation and the resulting remodelling of the airways and it is hoped that it will lead us closer to a new therapy and understanding whether therapy can reverse asthmatic specific changes in the lung.