​Study finds protein difference in lungs of asthmatics

Surfactant protein D (SP-D) is an important molecule in the lungs that protects lung cells from inhaled pollutants, microbes and allergens.

In a new study published in Respiratory Research, AllerGen researchers report that SP-D in asthmatics differs from that found in non-asthmatics, and that this difference can influence a person’s susceptibility to infections and result in an altered inflammatory response in asthmatic patients.

The study also showed that SP-D protein expression in asthmatics compared to non-asthmatics differed in response to IL-13, a cytokine closely associated with allergic asthma. This regulation difference may be a cause of the higher infection and exacerbation incidence in asthmatics.

The research team included AllerGen investigator Dr. Delbert Dorscheid and AllerGen trainees Drs Gurpreet Singhera and Jie Xu.