INDIVIDUAL VARIABILITY IN LUNG HOST DEFENSE: SURFACTANT PROTEIN-A GENETIC VARIAN

这个子项目是利用由NIH/NCRR资助的中心拨款提供的资源的许多研究子项目之一。子项目和调查员(PI)可能从另一个NIH来源获得了主要资金，因此可能会出现在其他CRISE条目中。列出的机构是针对中心的，而不一定是针对调查员的机构。人类的肺部疾病可能由于各种原因而发展。在环境中暴露在臭氧、吸烟、肺部感染和早产等危险因素中，都会使人类面临患上严重和危及生命的肺部疾病的风险。人们非常感兴趣的是，两个人可以暴露在相同的环境刺激下，导致肺部疾病的发生，而一个人患上肺部疾病，而另一个人保持健康。有没有“危险”因素在起作用，或者是“保护性”因素，保护个人即使暴露在刺激下也不会患上肺部疾病？我们的重点是与肺中存在的蛋白质相关的遗传和功能变异性。这些蛋白质被称为表面活性蛋白质，在个体的防御反应中起着至关重要的作用。一种特殊的蛋白质是表面活性蛋白A(SP-A)。这项建议旨在研究SP-A及其影响的防御细胞在产生炎症的数量方面有何不同。这将通过从健康志愿者的肺和血液中获取防御细胞，并通过确定这些人在SP-A方面的基因构成来实现。

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Lung disease in humans can develop due to a variety of reasons. Environmental exposure to risk factors such as ozone, smoking, lung infections, and premature birth all put humans at risk for developing severe and life-threatening lung diseases. It is of great interest that two individuals can be exposed to the same environmental stimulus for the development of lung disease, and one individual develops the lung disease while the other remains healthy. Are there 'at risk' factors that come into play, or alternatively 'protective' factors that safeguard individuals from developing lung disease despite being exposed to the stimulus.? We have focused on the genetic and functional variability in relation to the proteins that exist in the lung. These proteins, called surfactant proteins, are of prime importance in the defense response of individuals. One specific protein is surfactant protein A (SP-A). This proposal aims to look at how SP-A and the defense cells it influences differ in terms of the amount of inflammation produced. This will be done by obtaining the defense cells from the lungs and blood of healthy volunteers and also by determining the genetic make-up of these individuals in terms of SP-A.