Jaime Hook, MD
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Research Project:
Alveolar Mechanisms of Influenza-Induced Acute Lung Injury
Grant Awarded:
- COVID-19 Respiratory Virus Research Award
Research Topics:
- basic biologic mechanisms
- combination therapies experimental therapeutics
- imaging radiology
Research Diseases:
- ARDS
- influenza
- pneumonia
- respiratory viruses
Influenza A virus (IAV) is a major cause of lung infection worldwide, and its high mutation rate leads to the generation of novel influenza strains with potential for causing severe lung disease and new pandemics. Every year, at least 28,000 Americans develop critical illness from IAV lung infection. Mortality rates reach 30%, in part due to coinfection by Staphylococcus aureus (SA) that leads to fatal lung injury. However, it is unclear how IAV promotes SA infection, particularly in lung alveoli, the tiny air sacs where lung injury occurs. We will apply state-of-the-art imaging technology to gain new understanding of how influenza causes lung injury. We will focus on how influenza A virus disrupts the functioning of alveoli to cause secondary SA infection and the roles that certain proteins and certain alveolar cells play in this process. We will investigate the therapeutic potential of inhibiting these proteins in alveolar cells to restore normal function in lungs infected by IAV. Our overall goal is to identify new treatment approaches for influenza infection that decrease lung injury and increase survival.
Update:
In our first year we found that influenza blocks the normal secretion of liquid in alveoli, the lung’s air sacs, to create an environment hospitable to S. aureus. Treatment of influenza-infected mice with a drug that restores the liquid secretion protects against fatal S. aureus infection. These findings are now published in a non-subspecialty journal, the Journal of Clinical Investigation, and pave the way for the potential application of these drugs to increase survival in people with influenza infection.
Page last updated: September 17, 2024
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