Dr. Trevizan Bau recently had his research published in the American Journal of Physiology. He was the first author on this manuscript.
Summary: Excessive mucus production is a hallmark of chronic airway diseases like asthma, yet current treatments offer limited options for directly addressing this problem. Our latest study explores an overlooked player in mucus regulation: the airway’s sympathetic nerves. Despite being thought of as sparsely present in the lungs, these nerves release signals that influence mucus-producing cells—especially under inflammatory conditions driven by interleukin 13 (IL-13). By selectively disrupting sympathetic nerve activity using a targeted neurotoxin, we found reduced mucus-related changes and inflammation in experimental models. These findings suggest that airway sympathetic nerves play a key role in shaping mucus production and immune responses, pointing to a novel therapeutic pathway for managing asthma and other mucus-driven lung diseases.
