Stressing the lungs: neuronal plasticity in allergic airway inflammation

Abstract

Asthma, a chronic inflammatory disease affecting the airways, represents a major cost for public healthcare systems worldwide. Diverse lines of evidence, including data from our group, shows that the airway neuronal network in asthma is changed and contributes to airway hyperresponsiveness and inflammation This plasticity might, therefore, represent a potential druggable target.For a long time it is known that psychological stress can lead to asthma exacerbations. Stress can be classically defined as a real or potential threat to one's homeostasis, generating evolutionary conserved physiological responses that will help the individual to successfully cope and adapt. Studies in the literature are widely in agreement that stress induces neuroplastic changes and some suggest that this might also happen in conditions as asthma, however, the knowledge concerning this relationship is still scarce. We, therefore, propose this BEPE project as an opportunity to better 1) understand the importance of neuroplasticity in asthma; 2) study how stress modulates this relationship. In the laboratory of Prof. Dr. Reinoud Gosens, one of the leading researchers in lung inflammatory diseases, we believe that these are possible to accomplish. For this we will utilize 3 approaches: 1) in-vitro using cholinergic neurons; 2) ex-vivo using lung slices and; 3) in vivo by using an animal model of chronic allergen challenge and stress. The results will help to better understand how stress affects airway neurons in asthma and to propose novel treatments. (AU)