Oxidative Lung Injury in Virus-Induced Wheezing
Abstract
This project is in response to the Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs, Investigator-Initiated Research Award and is addressing the topic area Childhood asthma . The project focuses on respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), the single most important pathogen causing acute respiratory-tract infections in children. RSV infections are a major precipitating factor of wheezing in asthmatic children and have been linked to both the development and the severity of asthma. Our group has established a multidisciplinary and highly integrated pre-clinical and translational research program that focuses on the role of oxidative injury in the pathogenesis of severe RSV infections. We have discovered that in the course of RSV infections reactive oxygen species (ROS) are rapidly generated along with viral-mediated inhibition of protective antioxidant enzyme (AOE) genes in the lung. Thus, we propose a new molecular pathway by which respiratory viruses induce lung inflammation, with implication for novel therapeutic strategies of lower respiratory infections and virus-triggered precipitation of asthma attacks.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 2012
- Accession Number
- ADA581779
Entities
People
- Roberto P Garofalo
Organizations
- University of Texas at Austin