Researchers identify new genes that likely contribute to asthma -
In a study published yesterday in the journal Nature Immunology , a group the La Jolla Institute (LJI) led by Pandurangan Vijayanand, Ph.D. identify new genes that likely contribute to asthma, a disease that currently affects over 0 million people worldwide.
genetic material of an organism, also known as its genome can be divided into smaller sections or "neighborhoods". Scientists can determine which genetic neighborhoods in a cell are active, or prepared for the production of genes by looking for a marker on the genome called amplifier. An amplifier can increase the production of genes in its immediate vicinity. The purpose of the published study is to find genes whose neighborhoods are active in diseased cells but inactive in healthy cells. Genes that are active in areas in diseased cells may contribute to disease, and can potentially be targeted with medication.
In order to find genetic neighborhoods that are active in the asthmatic disease, scientists in the development of the group Vijayanand experiences on memory cells that develop abnormally in patients 'asthma. The memory cells are loaded quickly respond to foreign substances called antigens that the host has been previously discussed. portion of inflammation of the air, which characterizes asthma, is mediated by a hyperactive response to inhaled antigens by the memory cells.
Applying the technique of small populations of abnormal memory cells, Vijayanand shows 33 genetic areas which are very active in the cells sick, but inactive in healthy cells, moving the research center on asthma specific genes that are located in these districts.
The genome-wide association studies (GWAS) that are less accurate, have already identified 1,500 potential target areas associated with asthmatic disease. According Vijayanand, these objectives are too many to study individually, and therefore, the field remained focused on a few molecules to discover new treatments for asthma. With their approach, Vijayanand team investigated the 1500 targets for those most likely to contribute to asthmatic disease. "Our unbiased approach and without hypothesis revealed an impressive but manageable number of new molecules that could play a role in asthma and potentially new therapeutic targets," said Vijayanand.
Vijayanand and his team completed the study using different amounts of cells from the blood of healthy subjects and patients with asthma. They did to determine the smallest number of cells that were necessary for their technique, and found that it works with as little as 10 000 cells, which is significantly less than the millions of cells needed for the use other methods. Vijayanand contemplates the use of this technique in situations where access is limited to cells, such as tumor biopsy for cancer.
The prevalence of asthma is increasing in the developed world, and in several large developing countries. Treatment of asthma will generally include non-specific drugs to long term, because there is no cure at present.
Vijayanand said this study provides information that can be the starting point of many tracks of research and treatment. He said, "Our study provides a rich and comprehensive resource that will be useful to the scientific community, allowing investigators to conduct their own detailed study of the functional significance of new genes and enhancers that we have identified."
the results were published in a document entitled Nature Immunology "epigenomic analysis of primary human T cells reveals activators associated with the differentiation of TH2 memory cells and asthma susceptibility." the study was funded in part by the national Institutes health under grant numbers R01 HL114093 and U19 AI100275.
the researchers from other institutions also contributed to this study, including the Southampton National Institute for research and University Health California, San Francisco.
EmoticonEmoticon