Effects of environment and lifestyle on asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: studies with experimental animals and people with asthma

Abstract

Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) are very important health problems. The purpose of this project is to study mechanisms related to environmental and lifestyle influences involved in the modulation of inflammation, hyperresponsiveness and pulmonary remodeling in asthma and COPD. We will study experimental models of chronic allergic pulmonary inflammation in mice and guinea pigs and murine models of COPD induced by exposure to cigarette smoke and to administration of elastase. We will use experimental models of stress, physical training, exposure to atmospheric pollution, administration of endotoxin and cigarette smoke. We will study pulmonary mechanics, pulmonary responsiveness to contractile agonists, inflammatory cell profile of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BAL), levels of cytokines and other inflammatory mediators in BAL and pulmonary tissue, using ELISA and immunohistochemistry and perform histologic evaluation of pulmonary tissue, measurements of pulmonary remodeling, and molecular biology techniques to evaluate the expression of certain genes. We will develop an equipment to expose experimental animals to cigarette smoke. We will study, in adults with persistent asthma, the effects of regular exercise in asthma control, in the severity of airway inflammation, psychosocial factors and quality of life. We will study the mechanisms of Exercise-Induced Bronchospasm (EIB) in children with clinically stable persistent asthma, evaluating quality of life scores and airway inflammation measured with induced sputum and breath condensate of expired air in asthmatic children with and without EIB. (AU)