Faculty Research
Arnold Johnson
Professor, Dept. of Pharmaceutical Sciences Arnold Johnson, Ph.D., has been awarded a grant from the National Institutes of Health in the amount of $1.4 million. Dr. Johnson will study the role of glycogen synthase kinase 3β in tumor necrosis factor induced lung injury. Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) is a common (150,000 cases/year in the U.S.) and costly disorder with a mortality rate of approximately 50%. During ARDS, the lung has a change in blood pressure and the blood vessels become leaky which allow the lung to fill with fluid (also known as edema). The “wet lung” cannot ventilate adequately which decreases oxygen in the blood and increases carbon dioxide in the blood. Sepsis, commonly known as blood poisoning, is a major factor predisposing to ARDS. Sepsis affects approximately 250,000 Americans each year. The average death rate for sepsis is 40%. Combat-associated trauma with sepsis is a particularly timely concern due to ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. ARDS is mediated, at least in part, by Tumor Necrosis Factor. TNF is a protein that can cause
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symptoms common to sepsis. TNF is released by white blood cells in response to infection. TNF causes the blood vessels to become leaky similar to what happens in ARDS. An enzyme called glycogen synthase kinase 3β can mediate some of the TNF response. The strategy for this study is focused on glycogen synthase kinase 3β which might modify this lung-injury response during sepsis. Successful completion of the proposed studies may result in progress in the treatment and prevention of advanced sepsis/ARDS. An increasing older population with co-existing conditions such as depression of the immune system combined with an increasing population of antibiotic resistant bacteria will increase the risks of sepsis. The understanding of the lung response to various disease states could lead to therapeutic advances in humans, resulting in improved cell function, fewer incidences of lung injury, and ultimately, better outcomes for patients who develop sepsis.