Hasan S. Jafri, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics

INNATE IMMUNE RESPONSES IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF ASTHMA

Currently six million American children suffer from asthma. The rates of asthma have increased 160% among the very young children. The reasons for the increase in the prevalence of asthma are unclear but there is evidence that links certain respiratory infections with the pathogenesis of asthma.
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and Mycoplasma pneumoniae are common respiratory pathogens that cause acute infections but also play a prominent role in the pathogenesis of asthma. These pathogens are thought to modify the normal immune mechanisms involved in the defense of the respiratory tract and predispose the airways to the abnormal hyper-responsiveness and wheezing, which are characteristic of asthma.
We have developed novel approaches to study the local immune responses present in the respiratory tract of children with these infections. Our studies are focused in defining the role of certain soluble mediators and cellular populations present in the respiratory tract of children with these infections. Our goal is to identify potential targets for novel immunomodulatory strategies aimed at reducing the impact of these infections as factors in the pathogenesis of asthma in children.
A student who participates in these studies will perform literature search, will be involved in developing study protocols, identify patients for the study, obtain informed consent, learn novel standardized methodologies of quantifying the infectious organisms and measuring the concentration of inflammatory mediators in the respiratory tracts of children with these infections. The student will also learn in vitro tissue culture tools and perform data analysis as part of this project studies. Given the scope of these studies, we anticipate abstract presentations at national meetings and published manuscripts in peer-reviewed journal to materialize in near future. The student will co-author these efforts.
These protocols are approved by the Institutional Review Board and are currently underway at our institution.