Chinese scientists have developed a groundbreaking cell therapy that could provide long-term relief for asthma patients with just a single shot.
This new treatment, which has shown promising results in animal studies, could improve asthma treatment and improve the lives of millions suffering from this respiratory condition. Current treatments, including inhalers and injections of antibodies, require lifelong dosing and do not offer a permanent cure.
According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, over 27 million people in the United States have asthma, which equates to approximately 1 out of every 12 individuals.
New Cell Therapy Jab to Treat Asthma
The South China Morning Post reports that a team of researchers from Tsinghua University in Beijing, led by medical researcher Peng Min, has conducted the pioneering study. This team, primarily from the School of Basic Medical Sciences, has been exploring new treatments for various diseases.
Their latest study looks at a cell therapy commonly used for cancer treatment and whether it could be applied to provide relief for asthma.
The therapy involves the use of CAR-T (chimeric antigen receptor T-cell) therapy. CAR-T therapy is a form of immunotherapy that genetically engineers a patient's T-cells, a type of white blood cell crucial for fighting infections, to recognize and destroy specific cells.
While this method has been successfully used to treat certain types of blood cancers, the new study explores its use for asthma by targeting cytokines-signaling proteins involved in inflammation.
The results of this study were published on May 27 in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Immunology.
UNDATED: In this undated image an asthma inhaler is seen dispensing a dose of drug. A report released on May 3, 2005 to mark World Asthma Day claims that one person dies from asthma every hour in Western Europe. Photo by Getty Images
How the Therapy Works
According to Peng Min, approximately half of asthma cases are driven by a group of cytokines, including IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13. These cytokines can lead to excessive inflammation, causing severe asthma symptoms. The new CAR-T cell therapy targets these cytokines, potentially providing long-term remission with a single dose.
In the study, the researchers developed CAR-T cells specifically designed to kill eosinophils, a type of immune cell that contributes to asthma symptoms.
NewScientist reports that they found that a single infusion of these engineered cells in mice provided sustained suppression of lung inflammation and relieved asthma symptoms for more than a year, the entire duration of the experiment.
Safety Concerns
While the results are promising, experts caution that more research is needed to assess the feasibility and safety of using CAR-T cells for asthma in humans.
Bart Lambrecht from Ghent University emphasized the need for further studies on patient selection and identifying biomarkers that predict the therapy's effectiveness over existing treatments.
Additionally, the cost of CAR-T therapy, which can exceed $400,000 in the US, poses a significant challenge for widespread use. Peng hopes to reduce costs by developing methods to convert cells directly in the body into CAR-T cells.
Besides asthma, the researchers believe this cell therapy could potentially treat other conditions caused by similar inflammatory factors, such as allergies, atopic dermatitis, and obstructive pulmonary disease.
