Matthew Stier, PhD, left, R. Stokes Peebles, MD, and colleagues are studying a factor involved in the movement of certain white blood cells from the bone marrow to the lungs. (photo by Anne Rayner)
A team of Vanderbilt investigators has discovered that a specific factor is critical for the movement of certain white blood cells from the bone marrow to the lungs, where they participate in allergic and inflammatory diseases.
The findings, reported in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, suggest a new therapeutic approach for asthma and other allergic diseases: preventing the cells that respond to allergens from getting to their sites of action. The studies may also improve understanding of why some people are more or less susceptible to allergic diseases.