Treatment for asthma or allergies

A therapeutic composition for the treatment of asthma or allergies, comprising an arginase inhibitor in a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.

A therapeutic composition for the treatment of asthma or allergies, comprising an inhibitor of CAT2 activity in a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.

A method of treating asthma or allergies in a patient, comprising:

• identifying an individual in need of treatment for asthma or allergies;
• and
• administering a molecule that is capable of decreasing activity of ADAM8 protein in said patient.

A method of treating asthma or allergies in a patient, comprising:

• identifying an individual in need of treatment for asthma or allergies;
• and
• administering a molecule that is capable of decreasing activity of SPRR2A, SPRR2B or related SPRR family member proteins in said patient.

A method of determining a patient's risk for developing asthma, comprising:

• providing a biological sample from the patient;
• and
• determining the expression level in the biological sample of a subset of the genes shown in Table 1, wherein an increased level of expression of said subset of the genes in comparison to a control biological sample is indicative that the patient has an increased risk for developing asthma.

A method of determining a patient's risk for developing allergies, comprising:

• providing a biological sample from the patient;
• and
• determining the expression level in the biological sample of a subset of the genes shown in Table 2, wherein an increased level of expression of said subset of the genes in comparison to a control biological sample is indicative that the patient has an increased risk for developing allergies.

A method of discovering a compound that is effective for treating asthma or allergies, comprising:

• providing a candidate compound;
• determining whether said compound inhibits aginine metabolism, wherein inhibition of arginine metabolism is indicative that said compound is effective for treating asthma or allergies.