New Treatment Found for Ozone-Caused Wheezing

John W. Hollingsworth, M.D.
Duke University Medical Center
NIEHS Grants P30ES011961 and R01ES016126

A collaborative team of researchers at NIEHS and Duke University have discovered a cause of airway inflammation and irritation in response to breathing ozone, a common air urban air pollutant. Ozone exposure causes constriction of breathing passages making normal respiration much more difficult. This is a dangerous condition in people with breathing abnormalities such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma.

Using an animal model, the research team found increased amounts of a sugar known as hyalronan and found the compound to be directly responsible for the airway constriction and irritation. The researchers think hyalronan may contribute to asthma symptoms in humans also.

Adding to the importance of this work, the team identified several proteins which can alter the hyalronan effect and that might be useful treatments for asthma. They were able to block the hyalronan effect by administering a natural protein that binds to hyalronan and thus prevents it from causing the airway irritation. The researchers conclude that pharmacologic modification of hyalronan is a potential target for treatment of reactive airway disease.

Dr. John W. Hollingsworth, the senior author of the study, is a recipient of an Outstanding New Environmental Scientist award from NIEHS.

Citation: Garantziotis S, Li Z, Potts EN, Kimata K, Zhuo L, Morgan DL, Savani RC, Noble PW, Foster WM, Schwartz DA, Hollingsworth JW. Hyaluronan mediates ozone-induced airway hyperresponsiveness in mice. J Biol Chem. 2009 Jan 21.