The Pulmonology Department of the Nuestra Señora de Candelaria University Hospital, a center affiliated with the Canary Islands Government's Ministry of Health, and the University of La Laguna have received national recognition at the Spanish Society of Pulmonology and Thoracic Surgery (SEPAR) National Congress for an innovative study on asthma treatment. This study, which won the award for best oral presentation on bronchial asthma, has identified epigenetic markers associated with asthma exacerbations.
Asthma exacerbations, also known as asthma attacks, result from the interaction between genetic and epigenetic factors. While genetic factors have been extensively studied, research has focused on epigenetic elements, such as DNA methylation (a technique that modifies its function), which has not yet been evaluated in this context. The study conducted by the hospital complex, presented at the conference, investigates the possible genomic association of mDNA with asthma exacerbations.
Elena Martín, a researcher at ULL, who has led the research team.
The research team was led by a researcher from the University of La Laguna Elena Martín González, and included researchers from the University of La Laguna as María del Mar del Pino, from the University Hospital of Donostia, the University Hospital of the Canary Islands, the University Hospital of La Palma and the University Hospital Doctor José Molina Orosa.
To validate their hypothesis, the researchers used blood and nasal samples from Spanish individuals, identifying sites in the genome where patients who have suffered asthma attacks have dysfunctional DNA marks, distinct from those of asthmatic individuals who have not suffered such events.
In addition, it was identified that some of the modifications related to the risk of suffering asthma attacks could be due to environmental exposures, both in early stages of life and in the present, such as pollution.
The results obtained were validated in independent samples of individuals of European descent, thanks to collaboration with five international research centers from different European countries.
(Press release provided).
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