News of wildfires raging across Canada is a regular occurrence during the spring and summer months. In addition to devastating natural environments, wildfires can have a severe impact on human health, especially for those with respiratory issues. 

Thanks to new support from the federal government, Queen’s researchers have secured $2 million over five years to investigate how wildfires impact lung health in patients with asthma.  Today, the Honourable Mark Holland, Minister of Health, announced a $19.3 million investment to support nine lung health research teams across the country through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and partners. 

“As wildfires become increasingly common in Canada due to climate change, it is more important than ever to address the adverse health effects caused by exposure to wildfire smoke,” says Minister Holland.

Wildfire smoke exposure represents a particularly serious hazard for patients with asthma as it can trigger the worsening of symptoms and pose severe health risks. An additional challenge is that existing, standard-care asthma drugs do not always work for patients that have been exposed to wildfire smoke, which reinforces the need to better understand the damage caused by smoke particles to the lungs.

This will be the starting point of the research project, led by Paul Kubes, the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Immunophysiology and Immunotherapy. He will be joined by Sebastien Talbot (Biomedical and Molecular Sciences), Janet Jull (Rehabilitation Therapy), and Eva Kaufmann (Biomedical and Molecular Sciences), as well as collaborators from the University of Alberta, University of Calgary, and University of Saskatchewan, and Alberta Capital Airshed.

“We will investigate why forest fires exacerbate asthma so severely,” says Dr. Kubes. “Using our special microscopes that allow us to look right inside the lungs, we will examine whether the lung immune cells eat up the forest fire pollutants and become impaired.” 

In previous research, Dr. Kubes has developed an innovative methodology to observe cells in vivo, furthering our understanding of how different types of cells participate in creating inflammation in the body. The team will now use this methodology to investigate the mechanisms behind inflammation caused by wildfire particles.

Inhaling forest fire pollutants activate nerves that cause coughing and may lead the immune system to recruit certain types of cells (particularly neutrophils) that cause inflammation. This alteration can potentially cause long-lasting effects such as a diminished resistance to infections.

After unravelling the mechanisms of inflammation in the context of smoke inhalation and asthma, the research team’s next step will be to find potential treatments to prevent or stop this process. “We will test novel therapeutics to determine whether any can reduce nerve activation, neutrophil recruitment or even improve immune function,” explains Dr. Talbot. “The drugs we are testing are already on the market and are being repurposed, which will hopefully expedite the process of making these new treatments available to patients.”

The Government of Canada is providing funding for this investment through CIHR in partnership with the Canadian Cancer Society, the Canadian Lung Association, the Cancer Research Society, GSK, Heart & Stroke, and Mitacs, and in collaboration with the Canadian Thoracic Society, Children’s Healthcare Canada, Cystic Fibrosis Canada, and Health Canada. The Team Grants in Lung Health are the single largest investment in lung health research ever done by CIHR.

For more information, visit the CIHR website.