-
Therapeutic effects and mechanisms of novel target in steroid-resistant asthma
Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease and is a health problem worldwide. According to the latest global estimates (2014), asthma affects about 334 million people and its prevalence has increased in the past two decades. Most patients manage their symptoms using drugs; however, 10-25 % of patients require high doses of corticosteroids to effectively control the symptoms of asthma. In some patients, the symptoms recur frequently even under high-dosage steroid treatment. This suggests that these patients have developed resistance to corticosteroids, and are said to have steroid-resistant asthma. Therefore, there is a need for a novel therapeutic method to treat this form of asthma.
We have developed several novel and effective therapeutic target such as aryl hydrocabon receptor, high mobility group box-1, and MARCKS, major substrate of protein kinase C (PKC) for steroid resistance asthma.
-
Molecular mechanisms of systemic sclerosis associated with interstitial lung disease
According to the Lancet report, systemic sclerosis (SSc) remains the deadliest of the rheumatic diseases. Interstitial lung disease is the most common cause of death among patients with systemic sclerosis, with a prevalence of up to 30% and a 10-year mortality of up to 40%. The pathologic mechanisms of systemic sclerosis-associated with interstitial lung disease are still unclear and currently, therapy still needs to improve the efficacy and decrease the toxicity. We have developed an SSc-ILD-like animal model and we hope to find new therapeutic target and novel drugs for SSc-ILD.