Re: Re: VBI, Mayo Clinic investigate link between fungal proteins, innate immunity and a

[Guest guest]

Amen!

tigerpaw2c <tigerpaw2c@...> wrote: Wouldn't

it be nice if NIAID would have awarded this grant of 1.8

mil to the physicians, such as Dr.Shoemaker and many others that

have been seeing and treating patients with this type of infection.

Could save them alot of wasted time and probably for a whole lot

less money. It's nice to see that someone is finally showing an

interest on why the immune system reacts the way it does to fungal

proteins and enzymes. Inflammation? We all knows this occurs with

this condition and so do the doctors that are treating it/us. Same

goes for the production of cytokines. I think the Mayo Clinic could

benefit immencely if they would only get their high horses and learn

to communicate with the experts/environmental doctors that have been

investigating, researching this condition for much of their practice.

KC

>

> VBI, Mayo Clinic investigate link between fungal proteins, innate

> immunity and asthma

> Public release date: 27-Feb-2008

> EurekAlert (press release) - Washington,DC*

> Contact: Barry Whyte

> whyte@...

> 540-231-1767

> Virginia Tech

>

> http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-02/vt-vmc022708.php

>

> Blacksburg, Va. – Researchers at Mayo Clinic and the Virginia

> Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) have received a second grant from

the

> National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to

> advance understanding of the role of environmental fungi in

chronic

> airway disorders. Recently NIAID awarded the researchers a further

> $1.8 million for these studies over a five-year period to

> investigate how the environmental fungus Alternaria triggers

airway

> inflammation and bronchial asthma. Exposure to the fungus

Alternaria

> has long been implicated in the development and exacerbation of

> asthma, especially life-threatening asthma, although little is

known

> about the molecular events in the immune system that underlie the

> etiology and progress of this chronic disease. By understanding

how

> the innate immune system responds to environmental stimuli and

helps

> shape the adaptive immune system, scientists hope in the long term

> to develop more specific therapies as well as prevention

strategies

> for bronchial diseases.

>

> Principal Investigator Hirohito Kita, M.D., from Mayo Clinic,

> remarked: " In this investigation, we will be looking closely at

how

> fungal enzymes from Alternaria cause innate immune responses in a

> variety of cells and how they influence naïve T cells in the

immune

> system to differentiate into T helper 2 cells or Th2 cells, a

> process which takes place in partnership with antigen-presenting

> cells called dendritic cells. Th2 cells are part of the adaptive

> immune system and are linked to the events that lead to

inflammation

> of the airway. " He added: " Th2 cells typically produce cytokine

> signaling molecules or interleukins and the production of these

> interleukins leads to the recruitment of a specific class of white

> blood cells (eosinophils) that usually destroy parasitic organisms

> larger than bacteria or viruses. Mounting evidence suggests that

> allergic airway disorders such as asthma and chronic sinusitis are

> actually the result of our bodies believing we are being attacked

by

> parasites. Environmental fungi such as Alternaria do not typically

> cause invasive infections like parasites but for some reason, in

> certain people, the body thinks it is being attacked. This results

> in Th2 cells constantly recruiting eosinophils and chronic

> inflammation occurs because humans are continually exposed to

common

> environmental fungi like Alternaria. "

>

> The hypothesis that will be tested is that certain immunoactive

> enzymes from Alternaria activate dendritic cells through yet

> unidentified receptors that allow for tailoring of the adaptive

> immune response and the formation of Th2 cells. This in turn leads

> to the strong immune responses in the airways. The research team

> will use different approaches to determine the potential role of

> these receptors in the cascade of immune interactions that

comprise

> inflammation of the airways. This should allow them to better

> understand how certain environmental stimuli are linked via the

> innate immune system to the adaptive immune system and development

> of inflammation and disease.

>

> Dr. Lawrence, Associate Professor at VBI and the Department

of

> Biological Sciences at Virginia Tech, one of the leading experts

in

> Alternaria biology and principal investigator of the Alternaria

> genome sequencing project funded by the National Science

Foundation-

> United States Department of Agriculture (NSF-USDA) Microbial

Genome

> Sequencing Program, stated: " Our part of the collaboration is

> critical and will involve the use of proteomics and functional

> genomics approaches to identify the novel enzymes produced by

> Alternaria that are triggers of innate immune responses that shape

> the adaptive immune system. Recombinant fungal proteins will be

used

> to dissect the different molecular steps involved in the

development

> and progression of inflammation and asthma. " He added: " We will

> create a series of fungal knockout mutants for specific genes that

> will be used to examine the specific role of fungal proteins in

the

> activation of the innate immune system response. It is our belief

> that understanding how and why asthma patients develop Th2 immune

> responses to environmental proteins is one of the prerequisites

for

> the future development of treatments, diagnostic tools and

> preventative measures for patients suffering from the disease. We

> are truly excited about being able to participate in this

> transdisciplinary, team-based scientific effort. "

>

> Asthma is a chronic disease characterized by recurrent attacks of

> breathlessness and wheezing. The most common chronic disease among

> children, it currently affects 300 million people worldwide.* In

> 2000, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America estimated that

> direct health care costs for asthma in the United States total

more

> than $10 billion annually; indirect costs (lost productivity) add

> another $8 billion for a total of $18 billion. In 2005 alone, 255

> 000 people died of asthma worldwide.*

>

>

> ###

> * World Health Organization, May 2007:

> www.who.int/features/factfiles/asthma/en/index.html

>

> About VBI

>

> The Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) at Virginia Tech

> (www.vbi.vt.edu) has a research platform centered on understanding

> the " disease triangle " of host-pathogen-environment interactions

in

> plants, humans and other animals. By successfully channeling

> innovation into transdisciplinary approaches that combine

> information technology and biology, researchers at VBI are

> addressing some of today's key challenges in the biomedical,

> environmental and plant sciences.

>

> About Mayo Clinic

>

> Mayo Clinic is the first and largest integrated, not-for-profit

> group practice in the world. Doctors from every medical specialty

> work together to care for patients, joined by common systems and a

> philosophy of " the needs of the patient come first. " More than

3,300

> physicians, scientists and researchers and 46,000 allied health

> staff work at Mayo Clinic, which has sites in Rochester, Minn.,

> ville, Fla., and sdale/Phoenix, Ariz. Collectively,

the

> three locations treat more than half a million people each year.

>

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