Researchers from Trinity College Dublin (TCD) have made a breakthrough, which may eventually lead to better treatment options for people with asthma.

Ireland has one of the highest incidences of asthma in Europe, with around 380,000 people affected here.

The TCD researchers have discovered that the protein, Caspase-11, has a critical role to play in asthma.

It is already known that Caspase-11 has an important role to play in defending against bacteria, however it has never been implicated in asthma before.

The researchers found that when it is overactive, it can provoke a damaging inflammatory reaction.

The TCD team believes that when this happens, it is likely to be a key driver of allergic inflammation in the lungs of people with asthma.

"Caspase-11 can cause cells to die, which is a very inflammatory event as the cells then release their contents, which can irritate tissues in our body. We have found that Caspase-11 is a key driver of inflammation in the airways in asthma. This causes the signs and symptoms of asthma which most notably involves difficulty breathing," explained the study's lead author, Dr Zbigniew Zaslona.

He pointed out that while symptoms of mild asthma can be managed with current treatment options, severe asthma remains very difficult to treat.

"A variety of irritants such as airborne pollutants, certain types of pollen and house dust mites can induce cell death in the lungs. Our work suggests that Caspase-11 is sensing these noxious things and causing disease," he said.

Prof Luke O'Neill, who led the research, emphasised that Caspase-11 has never been implicated in asthma before, "so we think it holds great promise as a possible target for new drugs to treat this common, debilitating disease".

Details of these findings are published in the journal, Nature Communications.