Vascular-targeting genomic and genetic strategies for acute chest syndrome

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ABSTRACT The PI of this application is a physician-scientists with a career focus on developing improved care for patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). The acute chest syndrome (ACS) represents a serious, potentially fatal inflammatory lung injury syndrome occurring in patients with SCD. ACS shares many features of the inflammatory lung injury associated with acute lung injury and is the second most common cause of SCD hospitalization, is a major cause of acute and chronic SCD morbidity and mortality, is the leading cause of SCD ICU admission and premature death. There is increasing appreciation that ACS is an acute hypoxia-induced lung injury syndrome targeting the lung endothelium in response to multiple exogenous insults or triggers leading to pulmonary erythrocyte sequestration, an exaggerated inflammatory response, increased expression of adhesion molecules and impairment of pulmonary vascular function. In this highly translational proposal we will address the hypothesis that vascular-targeted genetic and genomic strategies for ACS will lead to better understanding of the pathobiology of ACS, generate novel ACS biomarkers in SCD patients and produce vascular-specific therapies for ameliorating this devastating health disparity. To address this hypothesis, in Specific Aim #1 we will identify and validate potentially functional novel single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and epigenetic modifiers that modulate ACS susceptibility. Specific Aim #2 will interrogate necroptosis as a molecular and therapeutic target in murine ACS. In Specific Aim #3 discover and validate biochemical and genetic necroptosis-centric biomarkers of ACS risk and a genomic signature for mortality in SCD patients. Together, these highly translational approaches hold the promise to identify novel targets and biomarkers that may lead to better treatment options for patients with ACS.