Wells Investigators Probe Infection-Killing Blood Protein
A $5 million National Institutes of Health grant will help IUSM
scientists better understand the function of a blood-cell protein
that bolsters the body's immune system yet also is thought to lead
to certain diseases.
The five-year grant will enable investigators at the Herman B Wells
Center for Pediatric Research to study blood cell development. Specifically,
their work will center on the role of Rac2, a protein found to be
vital in the function of phagocytic blood cells (specialized cells
that produce agents that kill microbes) such as macrophages and
granulocytes.
Macrophages engulf and destroy large particles such as bacteria,
yeast and dying cells, and help rebuild tissue. Granulocytes are
white blood cells that aid the body's defense against disease.
"We're interested in studying the phagocytic substances because
they have been implicated in causing diseases such as heart attacks,
stroke, artherosclerosis and arthritis," says the study's principal
investigator, David G. Skalnik, PhD, professor of pediatrics and
biochemistry and molecular biology.
A special breed of mice will aid Dr. Skalnik and his research colleagues.
The mice, developed by Mary Dinauer, MD, PhD, professor of pediatrics
and of medical and molecular genetics and director of the Wells
Center, and David Williams, MD, former Wells director, lack a functional
Rac2 gene and exhibit immune system defects.
"Although our research program is focused on basic science,
the long-term results of our studies could provide novel approaches
to control phagocyte function and thus control these very prevalent
diseases," says Dr. Skalnik.
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