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Asthma: Antioxidant-boosting protein improves stem cell treatment A cellular protein that promotes a key antioxidant will be a crucial component in stem cell therapies for allergic asthma. Stem cells derived from umbilical cords have been proposed as treatments for incurable allergic asthma, due to their ability to combat inflammation and regenerate damaged cells. Now, Dong-Myung Shin at University of Ulsan College of Medicine in Seoul, South Korea, and co-workers have shown that the activating transcription factor 2 (ATF2) acts to maintain healthy levels of the antioxidant glutathione, which is essential for the effectiveness of stem cell therapy. Specifically, ATF2 interplays with a specific nuclear protein to activate genes involved in glutathione synthesis. The researchers showed that the ability of MSC treatments to reduce airway inflammation in asthmatic mouse models was greatly reduced by silencing ATF2, and enhanced by its over-expression.