A study looking into the role of certain genes in the development of airways disease at the University of Nottingham has won a grant of £1.326 million from the Medical Research Council for the next five years.
Professor Ian Hall, Dean of the Medical School at Nottingham University and Deputy Director of the Nottingham Biomedical Research Unit in Respiratory Diseases, is the Principal Investigator of this research. His collaborators include Dr Ian Sayers of the School of Clinical Sciences at Nottingham, Professor Martin Tobin at the University of Leicester and colleagues at Cambridge and Cornell.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common cause of illness, occurring mostly in smokers, which results in worsening cough and breathlessness and which is responsible for 30,000 deaths per year in the UK. It is recognised that genetics plays a role in the development of COPD, and recently the team has identified that genetic variants in three genes called glutathione S transferase CD (GSTCD), HTR4 and AGER are risk factors for the development of abnormal lung function and COPD.
The aims of this programme of research are to find out the role of these genes in the lungs, to determine how genetic variability in these genes alters lung function, and to assess how different genetic variants contribute to the development of airways disease focusing initially on COPD.
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Posted on Wednesday 13th April 2011