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An international group of experts in respiratory medicine have received MRC funding to better understand how mucus is controlled in the lungs and how it contributes to severe asthma, which could lead to the development of new treatments.

Asthma is a common lung condition with symptoms such as shortness of breath, wheezing, coughing and chest tightness. Approximately 10% of people with asthma suffer from a severe form of the disease. They struggle to control their symptoms despite high levels of medications, resulting in a lower quality of life, risk of hospitalisation and even death. New therapies are needed for this group of patients. 

The lungs produce the jelly-like substance mucus that acts as a gatekeeper controlling access of harmful agents, such as microbes and toxin, into the body by trapping and removing them via the action of airway epithelial cells. However, in asthma, a build-up of mucus with abnormal properties can plug the airways, making symptoms worse, which is known as an exacerbation. 

The framework of mucus is provided by large molecules called mucins. In the lung there are two types of mucin (MUC5AC and MUC5B). This group of researchers, along with others, have already shown that MUC5AC is increased in airway mucus in asthma. Importantly, they have identified genetic changes near the genes encoding MUC5AC and MUC5B that alter the levels of these proteins and affect the risk of severe asthma. 

The team of researchers, led by Professor Ian Sayers in the School of Medicine in the Biodiscovery Institute at the University of Nottingham, have been awarded a £3M Medical Research Council (MRC) Programme Grant.  

Imperial’s contribution is led by Professor Ian Adcock and Dr Nazanin Zounemat-Kermani from the NHLI as part of the collaboration with experts from the Universities of Nottingham, Leicester and Manchester and from the biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca.  

Ian Adcock, Professor of Respiratory Cell & Molecular Biology at NHLI said: “This funding from the MRC brings together key opinion leaders in respiratory research to understand the mechanisms that control how mucus is regulated in our airways. The programme uses state-of-the-art methods in genetics, biology, physics and data integration to determine how excess mucus production contributes to severe asthma and how we might target it for therapeutic benefit”.