Regulation of chronic inflammation and the development of new strategies for treating airway inflammatory diseases

Research Project Outline

Many Japanese people suffer from chronic inflammatory diseases of the upper and lower respiratory tracts, such as chronic rhino-sinusitis and chronic bronchial asthma. These diseases are generally resistant to steroids, and no effective treatment has yet been developed. Chronic allergic airway inflammation is thought to be induced and maintained by allergen-specific memory CD4+ helper T (Th) cells (Th1, Th2, and Th17 cells), although the precise roles of these Th subsets in chronic inflammatory diseases remain unknown. In this project, we clarify the cellular and molecular bases for induction and maintenance of chronic airway inflammation, and propose therapeutic strategies that may be used for chronic airway inflammatory diseases.