Arsenic and asthma
With funding from the PhRMA Foundation, University of Maine biochemist Julie Gosse is conducting research to determine if there is a link between arsenic in drinking water and asthma. Recent studies on the prevalence of the disease suggest that arsenic exposure elevates asthma incidence, but the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms that potentially trigger the symptoms are unknown. The focus is on mast cells, which are key in the inflammatory process and are important immune defense cells in the body, charged with fighting parasitic infections. Using biochemical, molecular and cellular techniques, Gosse hopes to determine whether arsenic affects how mast cells function.
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