Stem cell strategies for the treatment of chronic asthma
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploring the role of stem cell strategies for the treatment of chronic asthma
IRAS ID
184867
Contact name
Mohammed Haris
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 6 months, 0 days
Research summary
Chronic asthma is often accompanied by changes to the structure of the airways resulting in thickening of the airway wall with stiffened fibrotic tissue, reducing the available airway volume. This reduced volume coupled with the contraction of the airway smooth muscle cells results in the tightening and wheezing during an asthma attack. Asthma itself is often triggered by an exaggerated response of the immune system to an external allergen. Repeated events can result in altered and partially irreversible airway remodelling, increasing the likelihood of increased attack severity.
Stem cells, particularly those derived from bone marrow, may have important roles to play in the management of chronic asthma. These roles are due to the ability of stem cells to produce a variety of molecules which can both reduce immune responses to allergens, and which may reverse the airway structural damage. We would like to see the effect of stem cells (commercially available) on the cells from asthmatic patients compared to non-asthmatic participant cells.
We plan to compare the effects of stem cell conditioned media, containing secreted molecules, on the responses of airway cells from 3 groups of participants:
Group 1: Non-asthmatics
Group 2: Mild/moderate asthmatics
Group 3: Severe asthmatics
Participants will be recruited from the Royal Stoke University Hospital; cells will be obtained from via bronchoscopy with bronchoalveloar lavage, brushing and biopsy. Cells will then expanded using in vitro cell culture techniques to obtain sufficient numbers for experimentation. These expanded cells will be incorporated into collagen gels and their behaviour when exposed to insults that are known to provoke an asthmatic phenotype (IgE and type two cytokines) will be assessed. The ability of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell conditioned media to change this response will be determined.REC name
Wales REC 6
REC reference
16/WA/0022
Date of REC Opinion
1 Mar 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion