Animal Models of Asthma Allergic asthma is characterized by direct airway narrowing after contact with allergens. We study these phenomena in mouse and guinea pig models of allergic asthma, in which the animals are sensitized and challenged with ovalbumin. Many asthmatics suffer from viral infections in the respiratory airways. We observed that application of a parainfluenza virus to guinea pigs produces effects in the lungs that are reminiscent of complaints expressed by many human asthmatics. These research topics are outlined below.
T lymphocytes play a fundamental role in the initiation and regulation of inflammatory responses.
Several lines of evidence support the view that T cells are involved in the pathogenesis of asthma. We investigate the role that different subsets of T helper lymphocytes play in asthma. The mast cell is well established as a major initiating cell of the early phase of allergic responses. Since the discovery of the IgE-dependent activation of mast cells by antigen, the possibility that mast cells play a role in asthma has been avidly pursued. At our department, we are very interested in intracellular signal-transduction pathways in mast cells and their significance in airway disease.