When he came to Perth in 1993, the project moved with him. Research showed that there were actually two chemical messengers involved in eosinophil control. If we could block the release of the interleukins, it might stop the accumulation of eosinophils and many of the resulting symptoms of an asthma attack. The researchers in Perth are finding out what controls the production of IL-5 itself. The aim is to see if there are differences in the regulation of its production between T cells from normal and asthmatic individuals.
Preliminary findings suggests that there are differences.
Canberra researchers use genetically engineered mice At the Australian National University in Canberra, Mr Simon Hogan, a PhD student in Dr Foster s team, has developed a mouse model of allergic asthma. Although they had some types of white blood cell accumulating, they were virtually symptom-free. When the mice were infected with the virus, and Il-5 was synthesised, an allergic trigger produced a full asthma response in mice that previously had produced none when presented with an identical trigger. The knowledge from this work gives us a way out of the asthma maze. The Australian Foundation for Science and the Science and Technology Awareness Program of the Commonwealth Department of Industry, Science and Resources are also supporters of Nova .