Silencing signals from pain-sensing nerve cells in the lungs reduces the symptoms of asthma in mice.

When stimulated by allergens, these neurons cause airways to constrict and trigger symptoms such as coughing and wheezing. Bruce Levy and Clifford Woolf of Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, and their colleagues blocked the activity of these cells and found that this reduced airway inflammation by reducing the production of immune-signalling molecules such as IL-5. The team reports that IL-5 triggers pain-sensing neurons to release a peptide called VIP that stimulates immune cells, creating a feedback loop that sustains allergies.

The results reveal a potential way to treat asthma and respiratory allergies.

Neuron http://doi.org/5rf (2015)