Regulation of IL-13 transcription in human T-cells by GATA-3/NF-AT complexes: modulation by corticosteroids

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Asthma affects 1 in 12 of the UK population, with 5.2 million people currently receiving treatment. The UK has one of the highest prevalence of asthma in young adults in Europe and the numbers of children reporting asthma symptoms has risen six fold over the last 30 years. Asthma costs the NHS #889m per year and it is estimated that at least 12.7 million working days are lost due to asthma each year. The rising prevalence of allergic diseases and accompanying health care costs are therefore major health and socio-economic problems. Most asthmatic subjects respond to treatment with inhaled corticosteroids although the mechanisms underlying their action are not clear. We wish to determine how corticosteroids reduce the expression of key proteins involved in asthma particularly the inflammatory mediator interleukin 13 (IL-13). Understanding how corticosteroids work in mild asthma may help to develop new drugs to target these processes that have fewer side-effects and may be able to treat patients with severe asthma who do not improve with corticosteroids. This will result in improved patient care with less side-effects and in cost savings to the NHS,