Overactive Natural Killer Cells Linked to Asthma Progression – Research Horizons – Research Horizons

Research By: David Ohayon, PhD | Stephen Waggoner, PhD | Gurjit Khurana Hershey, MD, PhD

Post Date: February 9, 2024 | Publish Date: Feb. 9, 2024

A study in Science Immunology, published Feb. 9, 2024, identifies an unexpected hyperactive group of natural killed (NK) cells that appears to play an important role in driving the atopic march from early eczema to increased risk of developing asthma later in childhood.

The study examined natural killer cell samples from 124 infants involved in an ongoing project called Mechanisms of Progression of Atopic Dermatitis to Asthma in Children (MPAACH). The new findings suggest a potential new therapeutic target for preventing asthma or reducing its severity.

Our findings reshape the simple dogma of poor natural killer cell activity promoting eczema by demonstrating an unexpected wrinkle. An overactive population of natural killer cells in children with eczema may in fact worsen skin damage and provoke allergic sensitivity or development of asthma, says corresponding author Gurjit Neeru Khurana Hershey, MD, PhD, director of the Division of Asthma Research at Cincinnati Childrens.

More details about the study appear in an article at AAAS News.

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Overactive Natural Killer Cells Linked to Asthma Progression - Research Horizons - Research Horizons