Major MRC grant awarded to Prof Simon Johnson for study on chronic asthma

The School of Clinical Sciences is pleased to announce that Professor Simon Johnson has been awarded £348,146 by the Medical Research Council for his study entitled 'Extra-cellular matrix inducible collagenase activity in asthma: a potential drug target against airway remodelling'.  

In the study the team will examine how changes in the extracellular matrix, seen in patients with asthma, affect the expression and activity of collagen degrading metalloproteinases, and how this affects airway narrowing to cause worsening symptoms in patients with asthma.

The matrix metalloproteinases are a family of proteins which affect the structure of the extra-cellular matrix, a complex protein scaffold which surrounds most cells and can also affect cell function independently of the extra-cellular matrix. Matrix metalloproteinases are increased in chronic lung diseases where the lung architecture is altered and are being investigated as potential drug targets in respiratory diseases.  

Although of potential interest as targets for therapy the functional consequences of matrix metalloproteinase activity in chronic lung diseases is currently uncertain. The study should determine how these proteins affect asthma symptoms and point toward potential novel treatments for chronic asthma.