Professor Peter Bradding

I completed my research degree (DM University of Southampton) in 1995 and was awarded a competitive Wellcome Trust Advanced Fellowship in 1998 investigating ion channel expression and function in human mast cells. I was awarded a personal Chair in Respiratory Medicine at the University of Leicester in 2006. My laboratory has contributed major advances in the fields of mast cell and ion channel biology particularly in relation to asthma and pulmonary fibrosis and also with respect to the pathophysiological mechanisms of asthma. My research work is highly cited (H-index 76 >25000 citations). I also have extensive experience designing and running interventional clinical trials in asthma both industry- and investigator-led. I am an active Respiratory clinician focussing on the management of people with severe asthma.

Research activities

• Investigating the molecular pathways driving type2 cytokine biomarker-high and -low severe asthma

• Ion channel regulation of human mast cell lung fibroblast and airway smooth muscle cell biology in asthma and lung fibrosis

• Regulation of human airway smooth muscle β2-adrenoceptor and steroid responsiveness by mast cells

• Modelling fibrosis in ex vivo human lung tissue for the assessment of novel therapies in lung fibrosis

• Ion channel regulation of fibroblasts in aortic stenosis and left ventricular fibrosis Current funding from NIHR MRC Midlands Asthma and Allergy Research Association (MAARA) industry 

Recent selected original peer reviewed research papers

1. Ashmole I, Duffy SM, Leyland ML, Morrison VS, Begg M, Bradding P. CRACM/Orai ion channel expression and function in human lung mast cells. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2012; 129:1628-1635. 2. Roach KM, Duffy SM, Coward W, Feghali-Bostwick C, Wulff H, Bradding P. The K+ channel KCa3.1 as a novel target for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. PLOS One 2013; 8:e85244.

3. Choy DF, Hart KM, Borthwick LA, Shikotra A, Nagarkar DR, Siddiqui S, Jia G, Ohri CM, Doran E,  Vannella KM, Butler CA, Hargadon B, Sciurba JC, Gieseck RL, Thompson RW, White S, Abbas AR, Jackman J, Wu LC, Egen JG, Heaney LG, Ramalingam TR, Arron JR, Wynn TA, Bradding P. Th2 and Th17 inflammatory pathways are reciprocally regulated in asthma. Sci Transl Med 2015; 7: 301ra129. DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aab3142

4. Lewis RJ, Chachi L, Newby C, Amrani Y, Bradding P. Bidirectional counterregulation of human lung mast cell and human airway smooth muscle cell 2-adrenoceptors. J Immunol 2016; 196:55-63.

5. Shikotra A, Choy DF, Siddiqui S, Arthur G, Nagarkar DR, Jia G, Wright AKA, Ohri CM, Doran E, Butler CA, Hargadon B, Abbas AR, Jackman J, Wu LC, Heaney LG, Arron JR, Bradding P. A CEACAM6-high airway neutrophil phenotype and CEACAM6-high epithelial cells are features of severe asthma. J Immunol 2017; 198:3307-3317.

6. Roach KM, Sutcliffe A, Matthews L, Elliott G, Newby C, Amrani Y, Bradding P. A model of human lung fibrogenesis for the assessment of anti-fibrotic strategies in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Sci Rep 2018; 8:342. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-18555-9.

7. Siddiqui S, Shikotra A, Richardson M, Doran E, Choy D, Bell A, Austin CD, Eastham Anderson J, Hargadon B, Arron JR, Wardlaw A, Brightling CE, Heaney LG, Bradding P. Airway pathological heterogeneity in asthma: visualisation of disease micro-clusters using topological data analysis. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2018; 142:1457-1468. 

8. Chachi, L, Alzahrani A, Biddle M, Bagadood R, Koziol-White C, Panettieri R, Bradding P*, Amrani Y*. Increased β2-adrenoceptor phosphorylation in airway smooth muscle in severe asthma: possible role of mast cell-derived growth factors. Clin Exp Immunol 2018; 194:253-258.  *Joint senior author

9. Bradding P, Richardson M, Hinks TSC, Howarth PH, Choy DF, Arron JR, Wenzel SE, Siddiqui S. ACE2, TMPRSS2 and FURIN gene expression in the airways of people with asthma - implications for COVID-19. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2020;146:208-211. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2020.05.013. 

10. Virk HS, Biddle MS, Smallwood DT, Weston CA, Castells E, Bowman VW, McCarthy J, Amrani Y, Duffy SM, Bradding P*, Roach KM*. TGFβ1 induces resistance of human lung myofibroblasts to cell death via downregulation of TRPA1. Br J Pharmacol 2021; 178(15):2948-2962. doi: 10.1111/bph.15467. *Joint senior author

MD/PhD students supervised to completion: 16

Current supervision: 2 PhD.

Research degrees (MD/PhD) examined: UK - 23; international - 2

Undergraduate biomedical science placement students (1 year lab placements)

CHDD phase I medical students

UoL Biomedical Sciences 3rd year project students

MSc project students

Asthma