Medical Treatment
A Korean research team has successfully developed immunotherapy to treat bronchial asthma and defined the mechanism for the treatment.
On Sept. 14, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced that a joint research team from Chonnam National University and the Institute for Basic Science succeeded in curing asthma-induced mice by injecting flagellin, a protein that forms the filament in a bacterial flagellum, and asthma treatment materials that combine asthma-causing allergy antigens into the group of experimental mice.
The research team found out that such a treatment could have similar effects on humans through nonclinical testing that uses dendritic cells extracted from the blood of asthma patients suffering from house dust mite allergy and T cells, a white blood cell that plays an important part of the immune system. Dendritic cells let T cells recognize the penetration of allergy antigens by gobbling up and cutting the antigens short. Those cells can also give T cells directions as to how to respond.
The research team already has a patent at home and abroad for immunotherapy using flagellin, and proved that the method is safe and stable in the nonclinical testing, which is in its final stages of completion.
"We discovered that it is possible to treat allergic asthma by spraying the aqueous solution containing our newly-developed treatment substance into the nostril of asthma-induced mice, since the substance works on dendritic cells that reside in the airway, changes T lymphocytes to control the immune system, and thereby balances the body's immune system," professor Lee Joon-haeng from Chonnam National University explained, who led the research team. He added, "Our research team is preparing for a clinical trial involving chronic and intractable asthma patients. We're also working to develop a cell treatment that takes out and reinjects drug delivery systems and dendritic cells, after teaching them about the function to balance the immune system."
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There's no cure for asthma, and steroids are used to treat the disease. However, the use of steroids for a long time causes side effects. The newly-developed immunotherapy is expected to have far-reaching influence, since it could be used to treat various types of allergic diseases, including atopic dermatitis and food allergies.
The research findings were first published online by the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, a medical journal published by Elsevier.