Recently Discovered Enzyme Could Help Treat Asthma

Researchers may have found an enzyme linked to heart disease that could be a promising target in treating asthma. According to researchers from the University of Iowa, this enzyme, known as CaMKII, is linked to the harmful effects of oxidation in the respiratory tract that can trigger asthmatic symptoms. 

Background information from the study shows that asthma affects billions of people worldwide and close to 8.5 percent of the U.S. population has asthma, known for causing 3,000 deaths and more than $56 billion annually in medical and lost work costs, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, limited treatment options create a harsh reality for many with the disease.

"It's a kind of an epidemic without a clear, therapeutic option," said lad study author Mark Anderson and professor and chair in internal medicine at University of Iowa, via a press release. "The take-home message is that inhibiting CaMKII appears to be an effective anti-oxidant strategy for treating allergic asthma."

Researchers tested the enzyme in airway muscle cells, but to little effect. They then tried to block the enzyme in the airway lining (epithelial) cells. After which, they noticed that mice with the blocked enzyme have less oxidized CaMKII, as well as no airway muscle constriction and no asthma symptoms.

"[The study] suggests that these airway lining cells are really important for asthma, and they're important because of the oxidative properties of CaMKII," said Anderson, whose primary appointment is in the Carver College of Medicine, via the relase. "This is completely new and could meet a hunger for new asthma treatments. Here may be a new pathway to treat asthma."

"Ten years ago, not much was known about what CaMKII does outside of nerve cells and muscle cells in the heart," said Grumbach, associate professor in internal medicine at the UI, via the release "My lab has worked on investigating its function mainly in blood vessels with the long-term goal to use blockers of CaMKII to treat common diseases. We are constantly finding that CaMKII is interesting and important."

With further research, they hope to investigate inhaled drugs that could potentially block the oxidation of the CaMKII enzyme for treating both heart disease and asthma.

More information regarding the study can be found in journal Science Translational Medicine.