Allergy and inflammation

Project description

Equine asthma is a term used to describe chronic inflammatory lower airway disease in horses. Equine asthma is most often divided into two groups; mild-moderate and severe. At present there is no clear-cut criteria or biomarkers identified for distinction between subtypes. Typical symptoms for asthma in horses are coughing, wheezing, nasal discharge, increased respiratory rate and reduced tolerance for exercise. Equine asthma is a complex disease where both the genome and the environment are important contributors.

In this project we use single-cell sequencing techniques in order to examine the cells residing in the equine alveolar space and in the airway wall of horses diagnosed with asthma and healthy controls. Using this approach, we aim to identify novel cell types, subtypes of cells and altered cell states implicated in equine asthma. The long-term goals of this project are to clarify aspects of disease mechanisms and underlying inflammatory processes, pinpoint more precise biomarkers for the disease and identify novel targets for treatments, monitor therapy response at single cell resolution and validate equine asthma as an animal model for human asthma.

The project is carried out in collaboration with leading experts in equine respiratory disease at SLU and the University Animal Hospital.