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University of Cincinnati Department of Pediatrics

Susan Wert, PhD

Appointment

Research Assistant Professor of Pediatrics

Email

susan.wert@chmcc.org

Phone

513-636-4297

Fax

513-636-7868

Credentials

Ph.D.: Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, 1988

Postdoctoral Fellowship: Perinatology, Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, 1988-1991

Research

Dr. Wert uses immunohistochemistry to analyse surfactant protein expression in human lung biopsies and autopsy material from newborns exhibiting a variety of neonatal pulmonary diseases, such as respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP), hyaline membrane disease (HMD), bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), acinar dysplasia, chronic interstitial lung disease (ILD), hypoplastic lungs, and congenital cystic adenomatoid malformations (CCAM).

These analyses are often performed when pulmonary surfactant deficiencies due to mutations in the surfactant protein B (SP-B) and C (SP-C) genes are suspected. Genetic analyses for mutations in these genes are performed in collaboration with Dr. Lawrence Nogee at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, (www.med.jhu.edu/peds/neonatology/spb/). To date, Drs. Wert and Nogee have identified 15 novel mutations in the human SP-B gene and 11 novel mutations in the human SP-C gene.

Publications, Most Recent

Korfhagen, T.R., Glasser, S.W., Wert, S.E., Bruno, M., Daugherty, C., McNeish, J., Stock, J., Potter, S. and J.A. Whitsett (1990). Cis-acting sequences from a human surfactant protein gene confer pulmonary specific gene expression in transgenic mice.Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 87:6122-6126.

Glasser, S.W., Korfhagen, T.R., Wert, S.E., Bruno, M.D., McWilliams, K.M., Vorbroker, D.K. and J.A. Whitsett (1991). Genetic element from human surfactant protein SP-C gene confers bronchiolar-alveolar cell specificity in transgenic mice.Am. J. Physiol. 261 (Lung Cell. Mol. Physiol. 5):L349-L356.

Wert, S.E., Glasser, S.W., Korfhagen, T.R. and J.A. Whitsett (1993). A transcriptional element from the SP-C gene directs expression in the primordial respiratory epithelium of transgenic mice. Dev. Biol. 156:426-443.

Clark, J.C., Wert, S.E., Bachusrki, C.J., Stahlman, M.T., Weaver, T.E. and J.A. Whitsett (1995). Targeting of the SP-B gene disrupts surfactant homeostasis causing respiratory failure in newborn mice.Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 92:7794-7798.

Korfhagen, T.R., Bruno, M.D., Ross, G.F., Huelsman, K.M., Ikegami, M., Jobe, A.H., Wert, S.E., Stripp, B.R., Morris, R.E., Glasser, S.W., Bachurski, C.J., Iwamoto, H.S. and J.A. Whitsett (1996). Altered surfactant function and structure in SP-A gene targeted mice.Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 93:9594-9599.

Zhou, L., Dey, C.R., Wert, S.E. and J.A. Whitsett (1996). Arrested lung morphogenesis in transgenic mice bearing an SP-C-TGF-b1 chimeric gene. Dev. Biol. 175:227-238.

Zhou, L., Dey, C.R., Wert, S.E., Yan, C., Costa, R.H. and J.A. Whitsett (1997). Hepatocyte nuclear factor-3b limits cellular diversity in the developing respiratory epithelium and alters lung morphogenesis in vivo.Dev. Dyn. 210:305-314.

Korfhagen, T.R., Sheftelyevich, V., Burhans, M.S., Bruno, M.D., Ross, G.F., Wert, S.E., Stahlman, M.T., Jobe, A.H., Ikegami, M., Whitsett, J.A. and J.H. Fisher (1998). Surfactant protein-D regulates surfactant phospholipid homeostasis in vivo.J. Biol. Chem. 273:28438-28443.

Whitsett, J.A. and S. Wert. (1998). Molecular determinants of lung development. In "Kendig's Disorders of the Respiratory Tract in Children"; Chernick, V. and T.F. Boat (eds.); W.B. Saunders, Philadelphia; pp. 3-19.

Zeng, X., Wert, S.E., Federici, R., Peters, K.G. and J.A. Whitsett (1998). VEGF enhances pulmonary vasculogenesis and disrupts lung morphogenesis in vivo.Dev. Dyn. 211:215-227.

Morotti, R.A., Cangiarella, J., Gutierrez, M.C., Jagirdar, J., Askin, F., Singh, G., Profitt, S.A., Wert, S.E., Whitsett, J.A. and M.A. Greco (1999). Congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation of the lung (CCAM): evaluation of the cellular components.Hum. Path., 30:618-625.

Tichelaar, J.W., Wert, S.E., Costa, R.H., Kimura, S. and J.A. Whitsett (1999). HNF-3/forkhead homolog?4 (HFH-4) is expressed in ciliated epithelial cells in the developing mouse lung.J. Histochem. Cytochem. 47:823-831.

Tokieda, K., Ikegami, M., Wert, S.E., Baatz, J.E., Zou, Y. and J.A. Whitsett (1999). Surfactant protein B corrects oxygen-induced pulmonary dysfunction in heterozygous surfactant protein B-deficient mice.Pediatr. Res. 46:708-714.

Tokieda, K., Iwamoto, H.S., Bachurski, C., Wert, S.E., Hull, W.M., Ikeda, K. and J.A. Whitsett. (1999). Surfactant protein-B-deficient mice are susceptible to hyperoxic lung injury.Am. J. Respir. Cell Mol. Biol. 21:463-472.

Williams, G.D., Christodoulou, J., Stack, J., Symons, P., Wert, S.E., Murrell, M.J. and L.M. Nogee (1999). Surfactant protein B deficiency: clinical, histological and molecular evaluation.J. Paediatr. Child Health 35: 214-220.

Andersen, C., Malgorzata, J.M., Nowaczyk, M.D., Nogee, L.M., Shah, J, Ramsay, J.A., Wert, S.E. and B. Paes (2000). Recurrent familial neonatal deaths: surfactant protein B deficiency.Am. J. Perinatol. 17:219-224.

Cutz, E., Wert, S.E., Nogee, L.M. and A. Moore (2000). Deficiency of lamellar bodies in alveolar type II cells associated with fatal respiratory disease in a full term infant.Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 161:608-614.

Dunbar, A., Wert, S., Ikegami, M., Whitsett, J.A., Hamvas, A., White, F., Piedboeuf, B., Jobin, C., Guttentag, S., and L. Nogee (2000). Prolonged survival in hereditary surfactant protein B (SP-B) deficiency associated with a novel splicing mutation.Pediatr. Res. 48:275-282.

Morotti, R.A., Gutierrez, M.C., Askin, F., Singh, G., Profitt, S.A., Wert, S.E., Whitsett, J.A. and M.A. Greco (2000). Expression of thyroid transcription factor-1 in congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation of the lung. Pediatr.Dev. Pathol. 3:455-461.

Naltner A. ,Wert, S.E., Whitsett, J.A., and C. Yan (2000). Differential expression of nuclear receptor coactivators in mouse lung development.Am. J. Physiol. Lung Cell. Mol. Physiol. 279:L1066-1074.

Nogee, L.M., Wert, S.E., Profitt, S.A., Hull. W.M. and J.A. Whitsett (2000). Allelic heterogeneity in hereditary surfactant protein B (SP-B) deficiency.Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 161:973-981

Somaschini, M., Wert, S., Manglili, G., Colombo, A., and L. Nogee (2000). Hereditary surfactant protein B deficiency resulting from a novel mutation.Int. Care Med. 26:97-100.

Tryka, A.F., Wert, S.E., Mazursky, J.E., Arrington, R.W. and L.M. Nogee (2000). Absence of lamellar bodies with accumulation of dense bodies characterize a novel form of congenital surfactant defect. Pediatr. Dev. Pathol. 3:335-345.

Wert, S..E., Jones, T., Korfhagen, T., Fisher, J. and J. Whitsett (2000). Spontaneous emphysema in surfactant protein-D gene-targeted mice.Chest 117(5 Suppl. 1):248S.

Wert, S.E., Yoshida, M., LeVine, A.M., Ikegami, M., Jones, T., Ross, G.F., Fisher, J.H., Korfhagen, T.R., and J.A. Whitsett (2000). Increased metalloproteinase activity, oxidant production, and emphysema in surfactant protein-D gene-inactivated mice.Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 97:5972-5977.

Amin, R.S., Wert, S., Tomashefski, J., Brody, A., Hull, W., Nogee, L. Baughman, R and J. Whitsett (2001). Surfactant protein deficiency in familial interstitial lung disease.Pediatr. Res. 139:85-92.

Clark, J.C. Tichelaar, J. W., Wert, S.E., Itoh, N., Perl, A.-K. T., Stahlman, M. and J.A. Whitsett (2001). FGF-10 disrupts lung morphogenesis and causes pulmonary adenomas in vivo.Am. J. Physiol. Lung Cell Mol. Physiol. 280:705-715

Ikegami, M., Hull, W.M., Yoshida, M., Wert, S.E. and J.A. Whitsett (2001). SP-D and GM-CSF regulate surfactant homeostasis via distinct mechanisms.Am. J. Physiol. Lung Cell Mol. Physiol. 281:L697-L703.

Nogee, L.M., Dunbar, A.E., Wert, S.E., Askin, F., Hamvas, A. and J.A. Whitsett (2001). Mutations in the surfactant protein C (SP-C) gene associated with interstitial lung disease.N. Engl. J. Med. 344:573-579.

Whitsett, J.A., Glasser, S.W., Tichelaar, J.W., Perl, A.K, Clark, JC, and S.E. Wert (2001). Transgenic models for study of lung morphogenesis and repair.Chest 120 (1 Suppl):S27-30.

Zhou, H., Morotti, R.A., Profitt, S.A., Langston, C., Wert, S.E., Whitsett, J.A., and M.A. Greco (2001). Thyroid transcription factor 1, surfactant proteins and Clara cell secretory protein in pulmonary hypoplasia.Pediatr. Dev. Pathol. 4:364-371.

Special Interests

  • Structural morphology of the lung
  • Tissue responses to acute and chronic lung injury
  • Morphogenesis of the lung and the origin of pulmonary malformations
  • Use of transgenic mouse models to study mechanisms of lung development, cytodifferentiation, injury and repair in the lung
  • Development of molecular markers for the study of respiratory epithelial cell differentiation and for cell lineage studies
  • Image analysis and morphometry
Grants

Cystic Fibrosis Foundation R457 (PI, J.A. Whitsett, M.D.), Cystic Fibrosis Research Development Program, Molecular Morphology Core Component (Core Director: Susan E. Wert, Ph.D.)

National Institutes of Health HL56387 (PI, J.A. Whitsett, M.D.) Special Center of Research (SCOR) in Pathobiology of Lung Development, Molecular Morphology Core Component B (Core Director: Susan E. Wert, Ph.D.)

National Institutes of Health HL56387 (PI, J.A. Whitsett, M.D.) Special Center of Research (SCOR) in Pathobiology of Lung Development, Clinical Core Component E (Core Director: Susan E. Wert, Ph.D.)

National Institutes of Health HL56387 (PI, J.A. Whitsett, M.D.) Special Center of Research (SCOR) in Pathobiology of Lung Development, Project 1: Transcriptional Control of Respiratory Epithelial Cell Differentiation, (PI, J.A. Whitsett; Co-PI: Susan E. Wert, Ph.D.)

National Institutes of Health HL56387 (PI, J.A. Whitsett, M.D.) Special Center of Research (SCOR) in Pathobiology of Lung Development, Project 3: Role of SP-D in Modulating Viral Induced Inflammation and Pulmonary Remodeling (PI, T.R. Korfhagen, M.D., Ph.D.; Co-PI, Susan E. Wert, Ph.D.)

National Institutes of Health HL61646 (PI, Alan Jobe, M.D.) Surfactant Homeostasis in Health and Disease, Morphology and Confocal Core Component C (Director: Susan E. Wert, Ph.D.)

Honors

  • National Research Service Award Fellowship in Perinatology, 1988-1990

Presentations

Wert S.E. (1998). "A Review of Normal Lung Development". Post-graduate course, "Models for Pulmonary Development and Differentiation", American Lung Association/American Thoracic Society International Conference, Chicago, IL, April 24-29, 1998

Wert S.E., Profitt, S.A., Whitsett, J.A. and L.M. Nogee (1998). "Distinct patterns of surfactant protein (sp) expression in neonatal lung disease". American Lung Association/American ThoracicSociety International Conference, Chicago, IL, April 24-29, 1998. Am. J. Resp. Crit. Care Med. 157:A698, 1998.

Wert S.E., Profitt, S.A., Whitsett, J.A. and L.M. Nogee (1998). "Reduced surfactant protein C expression in full-term infants with respiratory distress syndrome". Society for Pediatric Research/American Pediatric Society, New Orleans, LA, May 1-5, 1998. Pediatr. Res. 43:303A, 1998.

Nogee, L., Dunbar, A., Wert, S., Askin, F., Hamvas, A. and J. Whitsett (2001). "Mutations in the surfactant protein C (SP-C) gene associated with interstitial lung disease (ILD)". Thomas L. Petty Aspen Lung Conference, 44th annual meeting, "Pulmonary Genetics, Genomics, and Gene Therapy", June 6-9, 2001. Presented by S.E. Wert.

Wert, S.E. (2001). "Surfactant Protein Deficiencies Associated with Neonatal Lung Disease", Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, The Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, May 2, 2001.

Wert, S.E. (2001). "The SP-D null mutant mouse". First Siena International Conference on "Animal Models of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease", Siena, Italy, Sept. 30 - Oct. 2, 2001.

Professional Organizations

  • Women's Faculty Association of the Department of Pediatrics: President, 1999 to 2000; President Elect/Vice president, 1998 to 1999; Treasurer, 1997 to 1998
  • American Association of Anatomists (FASCEB)
  • American Association of University Women
  • American Thoracic Society
  • American Women in Science
  • Microscopy Society of America
  • National Society for Histotechnology
  • The Histochemical Society

Related Areas

This person works in these other areas at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center: