The Integrative Genomics of Acute Asthma Control

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The over-arching hypothesis of this proposal is that inter-individual differences in asthma control result from the complex interplay of both environmental, genomic, and socioeconomic factors organized in discrete, scale-free molecular networks. Though strict patient compliance with asthma controller therapy and avoidance of environmental triggers are important strategies for the prevention of asthma exacerbation, failure to maintain control is the most common health-related cause of lost school and workdays. Therefore, better understanding of the molecular underpinnings and the role of environmental factors that lead to poor asthma control is needed. Using the Asthma BioRepository for Integrative Genomic Exploration (Asthma BRIDGE), we will perform a series of systems-level genomic analyses that integrate clinical, environmental and various forms of "omic" data (genetics, genomics, and epigenetics) to better understand how molecular processes interact with critical environmental factors to impair asthma control. This proposal consists three Specific Aims, each consisting of three investigational phases: (i) an initial computational discovery phase to define specific molecular networks using the Asthma BRIDGE datasets, followed by two validation phases - (ii) a computational validation phase using an independent clinical cohort, and (iii) an experimental phase to validate critical molecular edges (gene-gene interactions) that emerge from the defined molecular network. In Specific Aim 1, we will use the Asthma BRIDGE datasets to define interactome sub-module perturbed in poor asthma control; the regulatory variants that modulate this asthma-control module; and to develop a predictive model of asthma control. In Specific Aim 2, we will study the effects exposure to air pollution and environmental tobacco smoke on modulating the asthma control networks, testing for environment-dependent alterations in network dynamics. In Specific Aim 3, we will study the impact of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS - the most efficacious asthma-controller medication) on network dynamics of the asthma-control sub-module by comparing network topologies of acute asthma control between subjects taking ICS to those not on ICS. For our experimental validations, we will assess relevant gene-gene interactions by shRNA studies bronchial epithelial and Jurkat T- cell lines. Experimental validations of findings from Aim 2 will be performed by co-treating cells with either cigarette smoke extract (CSE) or ozone. Similar studies will be performed with co-treatment using dexamethasone to validate findings from Aim 2. From the totality of these studies, we will gain new insights into the pathobiology of poor asthma control, and define targets for biomarker development and therapeutic targeting.