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DEVELOPMENT OF MOLECULAR BIOMARKERS TO MEASURE ENVIRONMENTALLY INDUCED IMMUNE RESPONSES
Impact/Purpose:
There is a strong correlation between air pollutant exposure, persistent respiratory symptoms, and asthma in children. The mechanisms for this phenomenon are unknown because of a limited ability to evaluate immune responses in very young children. The primary objective of this project is to establish a panel of immune biomarkers that will be used to detect environmentally induced disease in humans, focusing on parameters of allergy and asthma. The overall hypothesis of this project is that molecular biology techniques can accurately provide quantitative measurements of immune cell phenotype and function in small biological samples.
Description:
This study will generate a panel of sensitive molecular biomarkers to measure environmentally induced changes in systemic and local immune responses within small biological samples. Once tested and characterized, these reagents can be immediately incorporated as a part of the National Children’s Study to investigate how environmental exposure to air pollutants can modulate the immune system during early childhood development.