THE KEY TO SEVERE ASTHMA HAS BEEN SHOWN TO BE RNA-BINDING PROTEINS

For the first time, scientists examining the genetics of the airway inflammation associated with severe asthma have shown that dysregulated proteins that bind to RNA alter gene expression.

One of the most prevalent long-term respiratory conditions is asthma. It is frequently described as an inflammatory disease and is more prevalent in youngsters than in adults.

While the inflammatory mechanism of asthma is well known, the genetics underlying the condition are unclear.

The cells of people with and without asthma provided the researchers with RNA genetic data.

The genetic code within DNA may be transported and interpreted thanks to RNA.

Protein information is transferred from DNA in a cell's nucleus to the cytoplasm or fluid inside of the cell by messenger RNA.

ZFP36L1 and ZFP36L2, two RNA-binding proteins, were markedly dysregulated in asthmatics.

The researchers saw a shift in the expression of genes that regulate severe inflammation when both proteins were restored in the bronchial epithelial cells of patients with severe asthma.

They concluded that ZFP36L1 and ZPF36L2 drove changes in gene expression in epithelial cells in asthmatics.