HMN 2026: What is the new driver of asthma-related inflammation

Researchers at National Jewish Health have uncovered a previously unknown mechanism that helps drive inflammation in allergic asthma, offering new insight into how the disease develops and potentially revealing new targets for future therapies.

The study, published in the journal Science Advances, was led by Kapil Sirohi, Ph.D., a researcher with National Jewish Health, and focused on a protein called CBX7, which was previously believed to primarily suppress gene activity in the cell nucleus. Researchers were surprised to discover that CBX7 can also activate inflammatory genes and help sustain immune system signaling that contributes to asthma.

The research team found that CBX7 becomes activated after exposure to allergens. Once activated, the protein uses a dual mechanism to drive inflammation: It functions as a chemical messenger in the cytoplasm while simultaneously relaying information to the nucleus, where it engages other transcription factors to promote cytokine production.

Ultimately, this dual action supports a chain of molecular signals that keeps those immune cells activated.

A broader role for CBX7

“We found that CBX7 plays a much larger role in immune cell function than previously understood,” said senior author of the study Rafeul Alam, MD, Ph.D., division chief of Allergy & Clinical Immunology at National Jewish Health. “This protein helps immune cells produce inflammatory molecules that are central to allergic asthma.”

Researchers found that reducing CBX7 activity in immune cells significantly decreased the production of inflammatory cytokines, key drivers of asthma-related inflammation. The findings demonstrated that CBX7 plays a critical role in helping immune cells generate and sustain inflammatory responses associated with allergic asthma.

The findings suggest that CBX7 serves as a critical control point for inflammation in certain immune cells involved in asthma.

A more precise therapeutic target

“Current asthma treatments focus on controlling symptoms and inflammation after it occurs,” Alam said. “Our findings identify a key molecular switch that helps initiate and sustain that inflammation, which could eventually lead to new therapeutic approaches.”

The study also revealed that CBX7’s inflammatory role appears to be specific to immune cells rather than airway lining cells, providing researchers with a more precise understanding of how asthma-related inflammation develops.

While additional research is needed before these findings can be translated into patient treatments, the discovery provides important new insight into the biological processes that contribute to asthma and allergic disease.

The content is provided for information purposes only.