The Macrophage Surfactant Protein A Receptor: An Important Mediator In The Pathogenesis Of Influenza Pneumonia

The long-term goal of my research is to elucidate the role of pulmonary surfactant in perinatal development of the pulmonary immune system, lung host defense, inflammation, and injury. Alveolar type II epithelial cells produce surfactant, a complex of lipids and proteins lining the alveolar surface. Surfactant is critical for both respiratory gas exchange and the immunological integrity of the lower respiratory tract. Surfactant dysfunction thwarts the ability of alveolar macrophages to fight infection and, furthermore, to properly initiate, develop, and cease inflammatory reactions to infectious organisms and endogenous insults. Fundamental research on lung surfactant is an urgently needed and largely untapped resource in understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of chronic inflammation, acute lung injury, neonatal and adult respiratory distress syndromes, and pneumonia caused by pathogenic and drug-resistant organisms.

Contact

Margaret Weber
maw71@psu.edu
814-865-7697