Children's, UPMC get $12.8 million grant for lung disease research

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Children's, UPMC get $12.8 million grant for lung disease research

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

By Anita Srikameswaran, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06276/726923-114.stm

Pulmonary researchers at Children's Hospital and the University of

Pittsburgh School of Medicine have received a $12.8 million federal

grant to study how individual differences influence the development

of certain lung conditions.

The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute's support establishes

the program as a specialized center of clinically oriented research

in pediatric pulmonology.

One of the projects will explore allergic reactions, particularly in

cystic fibrosis patients, to a common group of molds called

Aspergillus, said principal investigator Dr. Jay Kolls, chief of

pulmonary medicine, allergy and immunology at Children's.

" We've all been exposed to it, but a subgroup of patients develop a

significant allergy to it that results in damage to the airways, " he

explained. " We're trying to understand why some patients develop

allergy or some don't. "

About 10 percent to 15 percent of cystic fibrosis patients and 2

percent to 5 percent of asthma patients become allergic to

Aspergillus, he added.

Researchers will compare features of dendritic cells, which show the

immune system what foreign agents to target, in allergic and non-

allergic people.

" The preliminary data suggest there are significant differences in

how these cells are responding to the mold, " Dr. Kolls said. " By

understanding the mechanisms here, we may be able to improve

treatment for allergy. "

In the second project, researchers will study idiopathic pulmonary

fibrosis, or IPF, a disease of progressive scarring of the lungs. It

affects more than 100,000 Americans, and lung transplant is the only

known remedy.

Using microarray technology, co-investigators at Pitt will assess

gene activity in IPF patients to see whether they can identify the

subgroup of patients who are more likely to respond to medication.

That process could also point the way to new drug targets, Dr. Kolls

said.

Duke University and the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill

were awarded similar grants.

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(Anita Srikameswaran can be reached at anitas@... or

412-263-3858. )