Do YOU have asthma? Scientists say a tropical parasite that causes stomach bugs could hold the cure

October 27, 2016

A protein produced by hookworms relieved breathing difficulties in mice
Scientists say it is also a promising candidate for allergies in humans
Experts are hopeful AIP-2 could be turned into the first pill for asthma

Stephen Matthews For Mailonline

Published:
13:00 EST, 26 October 2016

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Updated:
13:00 EST, 26 October 2016

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An asthma pill could be on the horizon – thanks to a tropical parasite that lives in the gut.

A protein produced by the hookworm – a common cause of stomach infections – relieved breathing difficulties in mice, experiments found.

Scientists say the compound – dubbed AIP-2 – is also a promising candidate for allergies in humans.

Now experts are hopeful the protein could be turned into the first pill for asthma.

A protein produced by the hookworm relieved breathing difficulties in mice, experiments found. Experts hope the finding could help to create the first pill for asthma

The discovery follows clinical trials showing hookworms – found in Africa, North and South America and southeast Asia – protect against inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Researchers from James Cook University, Cairns, Australia, tested AIP-2 on both micle and human cells.

Mice treated with the worm protein showed less inflammation after being exposed to an allergen.

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The protein was also tested on human cells from people allergic to dust mites – a common asthma trigger.

Lead researcher Dr Severine Navarro said: ‘Although IBD and asthma are very different conditions what they have in common is a defect in the regulation of the immune system which results in overwhelming inflammatory processes.

‘To survive and remain undetected in the human gut, parasitic worms regulate their human host’s immune response.

Scientists say the compound produced by the hookworm – dubbed AIP-2 – is also a promising candidate for allergies in humans

‘We aim to use that to control the inappropriate inflammation that characterises autoimmune diseases and allergy.’

He added that their previous work found hookworm proteins help to change T cells – a type of white blood cell that circulate around our bodies searching for infections – to have an anti-inflammatory response.

HALF OF UK WILL HAVE ASTHMA BY 2026

Half the UK population will be suffering from hay-fever, asthma or some other kind of allergy by 2026 if current trends continue, experts warned in July.

About one in four people are now suffering from at least one allergy and each year the number of sufferers increases by an extra five per cent.

Half of all sufferers are children and by 2025 asthma alone will represent the most prevalent chronic childhood disease, with one of the highest healthcare costs.

Traffic pollution, different types of pollen and a cleaner home environment with fewer childhood infections are all thought to play a role in the dramatic rise in allergies.

This doesn’t just protect the gut – it also protects other organs such as the airways where asthma develops, he said.

Study co-author Professor Alex Loukas said AIP-2 showed promise as a potential treatment for allergies.

He said: ‘This study also represents an important step forward in our exploitation of the therapeutic potential of hookworm proteins.

‘In the asthma study we used a recombinant form of AIP-2 – which is to say we’re now able to reproduce it in large quantities.

‘This is an exciting development for us because it means we’re another step closer to being able to put a pill-based treatment into clinical trials – not just for asthma but also for other inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.’

The results offer real hope for the 5.4 million people in the UK who have the condition.

Three people die every day because of asthma attacks – two of which are preventable, previous research found.

The finding comes after research in July found half of the UK will suffer from hay-fever, asthma or some kind of allergy by 2026 if current trends continue.

The study was published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.