Cincinnati Children's Launches a Research Cooperative to Study Pulmonary Disease
Project Funded by a Newly Awarded $10 Million NIH Grant
Researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center will launch an all-inclusive study this month that will examine how an abnormally functioning cell can lead to common lung diseases.
The study, which is funded by the National Institutes of Health's National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, consists of four separate studies, but is based on one central theme: the identification of genes that affect respiratory epithelial cells.
The epithelium consists of closely packed cells that cover the surface of the passageways in the lungs. These cells protect the lungs from infection and aid in breathing. When epithelial cells are injured, it can lead to many lung diseases such as, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cystic fibrosis, asthma, bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema.
While there are many ongoing research studies in pulmonary diseases, scientists are still trying to understand the basic cellular and molecular processes that lead to respiratory illnesses.
"The epithelium plays a critical role in protecting and repairing the lung. Our goal is to identify genes that regulate these processes," said Timothy E. Weaver, PhD, principal investigator of the project and professor of pediatrics at Cincinnati Children's.
Specifically, researchers will identify genes that:
- Protect epithelial cells from the toxic effects of proteins that don't fold correctly
- Are associated with increased risk of developing chronic lung disease
- Protect the epithelium against lung injury caused by hyperoxia (excess of oxygen in tissues and organs)
- Regulate epithelial cell development
"Each of these studies is strong enough to stand on its own, but as a group, we can achieve so much more in terms of discovering molecular pathways that are common to many pediatric and adult lung diseases. Ultimately, these findings will aid in the development of new treatments for these diseases," Weaver said.
The grant, which is called a programmatic because of the collaboration across disciplines, is considered prestigious, partly because of the opportunities it allows for collaboration and partly because of its size: approximately $2 million annually for five years.
Contact Information
Amy Reyes, 513-636-9684, amy.reyes@cchmc.org
