2019 CCS research highlights: Department of Immunology and Pathology

L-R: Profs Ben Marsland, Margaret Hibbs

Monash University's Central Clinical School is at the cutting edge of medical research in national and international arenas. We are publishing a series of our research highlights from across 2019.

In this article we feature two highlights from the Department of Immunology and Pathology.

• World-first study of newborn airways microbiome may help prevent childhood asthma  
• Study raises hope for new lung disease treatment

i.  World-first study of newborn airways microbiome may help prevent childhood asthma 

A study of the bacteria living in the lower respiratory tract of “healthy” newborns and young babies has shown for the first time that bacterial communities form within the first two months postnatally, and that these bacteria interact with the immune system in ways that could potentially influence its development.

The study, led by Professor Ben Marsland in the Department of Immunology and Pathology, was published in Cell Host and Microbe.

It found that a child has almost a full suite of microbes in the airways as early as two months old. “This is very fast and is mirrored by changes in the baby’s immune system,” Professor Marsland said. 

“Although we don’t yet know how we could shape the lung microbiome of babies, data from our experimental models suggests this could be a powerful way of preventing asthma. Looking towards the future, we aim to develop approaches that could help translate our current knowledge into strategies to reduce the incidence of childhood asthma,” he said.

See more detail in our feature story.

L-R: Mhairi Maxwell, Margaret Hibbs

and Evelyn Tsantikos (first author)

ii. Study raises hope for new lung disease treatment

Research by Associate Professor Margaret Hibbs’ laboratory in the Department of Immunology and Pathology has paved the way for a potential new treatment for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), a debilitating lung disease that is the third leading cause of death worldwide.

The laboratory investigated the role of granulocyte-colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) in the disease. G-CSF is a protein in the body that encourages some types of white blood cells to grow. They found that genetic removal of this factor in a COPD experimental model significantly reduced lung inflammation.

The study, reported in the highly regarded Journal of Clinical Investigation, also found that G-CSF deficiency suppressed extra-pulmonary co-morbid diseases including cardiovascular disease, body wasting and bone disease that reduce quality of life in COPD patients. 

“Nothing has proved to be effective in treating patients with COPD, so we’re now attempting to target this protein. This would be the first-ever strategy that would treat the lung disease and the co-associated medical conditions at the same time, and if successful, has the potential to benefit millions of COPD sufferers,” senior author Associate Professor Hibbs said.

This work is being translated into a new disease therapy. It was a collaboration between researchers at Monash and Melbourne University and St Vincent’s Institute with clinical colleagues at the Royal Melbourne Hospital.

See our feature story on the research, first published 2018