The role of Annexin II in airway epithelial wound repair and the effect of corticosteroids on the Annexin II regulated pathway

Asthma is an inflammatory condition of the lungs that affects a growing number of individuals in developed countries worldwide. Current research and therapies for asthma are aimed at relieving the symptoms associated with the disease rather than the underlying defect. In spite of the use of anti-inflammatory agents, asthmatics experience progressive changes in airway structure and cumulative damage to the cells that line the airways (epithelium). The accumulation of damage due to ineffective repair may in part explain the airway’s hyperresponsiveness in asthma and highlights the importance of effective epithelial repair. Ben Patchell seeks to identify molecules that normally contribute to the process of epithelial repair and apply these findings to diseases such as asthma. Specifically, he is studying glycosylation, a process in which certain molecules gain sugars to become fully functional. Glycosylation has previously been shown to be essential in the repair of normal airway cells and there are demonstrated differences between the cells of normal and asthmatic individuals. Ben has developed a method to identify the unknown protein molecules responsible for these differences. Annexin II has been identified as a novel mediator of epithelial repair and has been demonstrated on the surface of airway epithelial cells. Ben is exploring how Annexin II and its associated proteins are regulated and the mechanisms by which they regulate cellular events such as migration in both normal and asthmatic epithelium. He is also investigating the effect of steroids, the primary therapy for asthma, on each of the cellular events. This research could lead to new research strategies and new therapeutics for asthma.