The Metabolomics to Predict Asthma (MAP) study has reached an important turning point. After examining the ‘chemical fingerprints’ of more than 300 children, the team is now taking a new approach, turning to proteins to better understand which young children with recurrent wheeze go on to develop asthma.
The MAP study set out to answer a question that matters to many families: when a preschool child has recurrent wheeze, can we tell whether they already have asthma, or are likely to develop it by school age?
To explore this, the team turned to metabolomics, the study of the small natural chemicals the body produces as it turns food and drink into energy and functions every day. Just as every person has unique fingerprints, our bodies carry unique patterns of these chemicals. The team wanted to know whether these ‘chemical fingerprints’ could flag which children would go on to develop asthma.
Recruitment began in 2018, with 211 children taking part: 87 preschoolers with wheeze, 25 preschoolers without wheeze, 56 school-aged children with asthma and 43 school-aged children without asthma. To strengthen the work, the team recruited a further 100 preschoolers with wheeze across 2023 and 2024, who completed the same study visits and questionnaires. All participants have been followed up over time.
What the team found
Early results were encouraging. The chemical fingerprints of school-aged children with asthma looked different from those of children without asthma, and some preschoolers with wheeze showed patterns similar to the school-aged children with asthma.
With follow-up of the study participants, the patterns were not strong enough to reliably predict which children would develop asthma. In other words, metabolomic chemical fingerprints would not, on their own, make a dependable laboratory test for predicting asthma.
A new approach: proteomics
Rather than stopping there, the team is putting the samples and information already collected to new use through proteomics, the study of proteins.
Proteins are essential building blocks in the body, helping cells grow, repair, communicate and respond to infection. When something changes in the body, such as the onset of asthma, the types and amounts of proteins can shift. The team will analyse the urine samples collected during the study to look for ‘protein fingerprints’ that may help predict asthma.
Long-term follow-up remains central to this work. Annual questionnaires will continue to track each child’s symptoms over time, so the team can combine this picture with any protein fingerprints they identify.
Why it matters
The shift to proteomics shows the value of building a well-characterised cohort and a carefully collected sample bank. Even though the metabolomics results did not deliver a predictive test, the children, samples and follow-up data gathered through the MAP study now make a fresh line of investigation possible, without starting from scratch. The team is hopeful this next phase will bring researchers closer to working out which preschoolers with recurrent wheeze have asthma, and which are likely to develop it by school age.
With thanks to our participants
This research would not be possible without the children and families who continue to take part in the MAP study. Their ongoing involvement, including each annual questionnaire, is what allows the team to keep following these important questions over time.
First published Friday 12 June 2026.
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