Clinical Genetics and Screening for Pulmonary Fibrosis

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7. Project Summary The primary goal of this proposal is to develop an effective approach to screening for early stages of pulmonary fibrosis by assessing the diagnostic and prognostic value of clinical, environmental, genetic and genomic factors in at-risk relatives of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). IPF, the most common and severe form of pulmonary fibrosis has a mortality rate comparable to that of many end-stage malignancies. Although IPF has historically been unresponsive to pharmacotherapy, recent studies have finally demonstrated that medical therapy can reduce the rate of decline in lung function, particularly when started early in the course of disease. In the prior grant cycle of this application we demonstrated that first-degree relatives were at high-risk to develop early stages of pulmonary fibrosis and that genetic testing helped to improve risk prediction. Based on these findings, we hypothesize that we will continue to observe a high prevalence of early pulmonary fibrosis in at-risk relatives; that we will be able to develop a clinically useful screening algorithm that combines key clinical, genetic, genomic, and environmental features for the early detection and prognostication of interstitial lung abnormalities (ILA) and/or pulmonary fibrosis in populations of diverse ethnic backgrounds; and that a subset of genes whose reduced expression predicts accelerated disease progression harbor pathogenic variants that help to drive this process. To assess these hypotheses, we propose the following Specific Aims: Aim 1) Develop an algorithm that can be used in clinical practice to identify relatives at the highest risk for pulmonary fibrosis, Aim 2) Prognosis: Define the baseline clinical, genetic, and genomic features in relatives found to have ILA that best predict their risk of disease progression, and 3) Identify novel genetic variants that contribute to pulmonary fibrosis susceptibility using an integrative genomics approach. In addition to providing a greater understanding of the role of that genetic variation plays in the development of IPF, the results from this study will motivate a clinical trial evaluating the use of screening and early therapeutic intervention in relatives at high-risk to develop IPF.