ALCOHOL, INFECTION, AND HOST RESPONSE

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This Alcohol Research Center proposal, entitled "Alcohol Infection and Host Response", is a coordinated effort on the part of a group of active, independent, original scientists to combine their intellectual and physical resources to create a regional alcohol center that will improve their scientific efficiency and productivity and will serve as a regional resources in the field of alcohol-related research, education and information transfer. The research efforts of the proposed Center will re-enforce and expand the currently existing investigations of alcohol- related research at Louisiana State University Medical Center and make them more interdisciplinary. The participating senior investigators are proposing three major scientific projects that are entitled: (1) "Alcohol ad host defense related hepatic function", (2) "Alcohol, immunosuppression and host defense", and (3) "Alcohol-induced modulation of cytokines and nitric oxide in rat lung". Three Core Units are proposed: a) an Administrative Core; b) an Animal Core facility dealing with the surgical preparation, as well as the feeding and handling of the chronic alcoholic animals; and c) a Laboratory Core with tissue culture and analytical components. The Core Units will also have a major beneficial impact on the presently funded NIAAA-supported research activities of several investigators. In addition, four Pilot Projects are included in the proposal, as well as brief outlines of several other potential future Pilot Projects. The latter group includes a proposal that will eventually result in clinical studies utilizing the available General Clinical Research Center, and also research and training opportunities for faculty and students of Xavier University, a predominantly black institution. Finally a strong component of research training and information transfer is also an integral part of the proposed ARC. This much-needed regional center will greatly contribute to our understanding of the metabolic and immunologic impairments and subsequent damage that alcohol abuse inflicts upon our population.