PROJECTS Current projects include the commercial exploitation of a novel method to improve treatment of asthma by reversing a specific functional defect of the bronchial epithelium (PCT/EP2009/064784), and further evaluation of two altered signaling pathways that may play a major role in the pathogenesis of this disease (projects AV-0012 and AV-0015). PCT/EP2009/064784: We are looking for collaborations or out-licensing opportunities to develop a new medicament for increasing the response to corticosteroids in asthmatic individuals who show incomplete or absent clinical improvement after corticosteroid treatment, either temporarily or on a long-term basis.  Project AV-0012: We have identified a signaling pathway that normally regulates the epithelial response to stress and does not work effectively in the asthmatic epithelium. This altered response may make the asthmatic epithelium more susceptible than normal epithelium to the deleterious effects of mechanical or chemical stimuli and may lead to a progressive weakening of the epithelial barrier. The possibility that it may represent a novel therapeutic target is being evaluated in vitro and in vivo, by using in-house developed bio-engineered asthmatic bronchial tissue equivalents and appropriate animal models.  Project AV-0015: This project consists in an in-depth evaluation of the adaptive responses of airway epithelial cell progenitors to physiological and pathological changes in their environment. The main objective of such investigation is to characterize further a signaling pathway that has been uncovered by our group and found to be critically involved in epithelial cell regeneration after injury.   Copyright © 1998-2012, Avail Biomedical Research Institute. All rights reserved.