2024-04-23 04:15:00
In France, at least 17 million people are affected by allergic diseases. But as surprising as it may seem, the mechanisms of inflammation at the origin of certain respiratory diseases – such as asthma or hay fever – are still poorly understood.
A team of French researchers is opening a new door to understanding these pathologies. They have actually identified one of the molecules responsible for triggering the allergic reaction
New treatments
“This molecule from the alarmin family, called TL1A, is released by cells in the lung epithelium a few minutes following exposure to a mold allergen,” the authors explain.
This lung epithelium is actually this carpet of cells that make up the inner surface of the lungs. There, this newly discovered molecule works with another alarmin, interleukin 33, to alert the immune system to the presence of an allergen.
This double alarm signal then stimulates the activity of immune cells, which will then trigger a cascade of chain reactions responsible for allergic inflammation.
“Alarmins therefore constitute therapeutic targets of great interest for the treatment of allergic airway diseases,” the researchers conclude. “In a few years, treatments based on antibodies that block the alarm in TL1A may benefit patients suffering from severe asthma or other allergic diseases.”
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