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Asthma research gets boost
KAREN McKINLEY
10/09/2009

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A joint research project into the causes of asthma has received a rare and prestigious award.

The American Asthma Foundation (AAF) released results for its Research Award Program this week, and they include Rui Wang and Brian Ross of Lakehead University.

They recieved a grant of US$750,000 over three years for research into altered metabolism of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) in the lung as a biomarker for the disease.

Wang is a professor of biology and vice-president of research at Lakehead. Ross is a professor at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine.

Wang is the only Canadian scientist to receive a 2009 award from the AAF. He is launching the research project, Altered Matabolism of H2S in the Lung: A Novel Biomarker and Therapeutic Avenue for Asthma.

“This is very exciting for us because it could fill a huge knowledge gap in asthma research,” Wang said in an interview.

Asthma is chronic inflammatory disease that causes restriction in the air passageways, he said. What causes the disease and the triggers of an asthma attack are being researched by Ross and Wang.

Wang explained that there are three questions they are asking in their research: what causes some people to develop asthma, a genetic or environmental reason; what causes a reaction; and if they know the cause, what‘s the best therapy.

“By using one molecule, we theorize that asthma has something to so with H2S,” Wang said.

“It‘s a very smelly gas that we have in the air in Thunder Bay (from the paper mills.) We know that it‘s produced naturally in the lungs, so if asthma sufferers produce an insufficient amount, could that be the cause of the disease?”

A news release from Lakehead University said H2S is produced by selective enzymes. Wang, Ross and their team are working on determining how and where in the lungs and airways this takes place.

They will examine the ability and potency of H2S gas in both dilating the airways and decreasing the contracting force of the smooth muscles within them.

The gas produced in the lungs may also limit the overgrowth of airway muscle cells, which is common in asthma, and ensure the airway doesn‘t become too narrow.

“This research could lead to a new kind of therapy, or produce a drug that could release H2S into the lungs,” Wang said.
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