A team from the University of Newcastle in Australia led the international study, which has identified two proteins called midline-1 and protein phosphatase 2A that play a part in causing asthma attacks. The results were published in the journal Nature Medicine.
The World Health Organisation estimates that around 235 million worldwide suffer from asthma and it has been identified as the leading chronic disease in children.
Asthma is a chronic disease in which the bronchial tubes or airways that take air to and from the lungs become inflamed, causing tightness in the chest, difficulty in breathing, excess mucus, coughing and wheezing. Symptoms and more severe asthma attacks are often triggered by dust and environmental factors such as viruses and pollution. While there are different triggers for asthma, the treatment generally remains the same and is focused on reducing inflammation and in pain relief.
The long-term international study discovered that levels of midline-1 protein are increased when dust particles enter the lungs while the levels of phosphatase 2A are reduced. Phosphatase works with other proteins on inflammation and mucus production in the lungs, leading the researchers to conclude that lower levels of the protein can cause asthma symptoms.
The next step for research into treatment for asthma will be in targeting the molecular pathways of the two identified proteins with the international teams well on the way to finding a way of inhibiting the pathway in a bid to prevent the disease developing in individuals.