Elucidating the Role of the Hydroxyeicosatetraenoic Acid Family of Eicosanoids in Airway Smooth Muscle Physiology

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The lungs are a complex organ made up of many different cell types, including airway smooth muscle. These cells need to communicate with each other to facilitate proper lung development and function. Cells can use a variety of different molecules to communicate with each other. The molecules that cells use to communicate include proteins and lipids. There has been much research done on the role of proteins in helping lung cells communicate but the same cannot be said for lipids. Lipid molecules used for communication are diverse and we know very little about their function in the lungs. My proposed research program will work towards unraveling the role of specific lipid mediators, called eicosanoids, in controlling airway cell function, specifically the airway smooth muscle cells. Previous work shows that the airway smooth muscle and the lung are capable of producing a variety of eicosanoids. With this funding we will: 1) Discover what kind of lipid mediators are made by each cell in the airway. 2) Understand how lipid mediators made by smooth muscle influence the function of airway smooth muscle cells. 3) Understand how lipid mediators made by other airway cells influence the function of airway smooth muscle cells. This work will provide key information to the research community that will further our understanding of cells of the airways use lipids to communicate and regulate lung physiology. Additionally, it will provide new insight into how eicosanoids control smooth muscle contraction which will benefit researchers studying smooth muscle in other organs (cardiovascular, gastroenterology, urology).