High Tech Detectives
Screen Thousands Of Genes, Proteins To Solve Puzzle Of Lung Disease
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL (Oct. 18, 2006) _ Recent
advances in computer and imaging technology allow the scanning of tens
of thousands of genes and proteins in little more than a blink of an
eye. This high speed technology has already produced advances in the
understanding of disease, including lung disease, and the already
blistering pace is picking up.
To take stock of this quickly changing field,
scientists and doctors will gather at The American Physiological
Society meeting, “Physiological genomics and proteomics of lung
disease,” to be held Nov. 2-5 in Fort Lauderdale.
“Up until a few years ago, we investigated one
protein, one gene, at a time,” said Bruce R. Pitt, of the University of
Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, and a member of the
conference organizing committee. “Now we have more robust gene profiling
techniques, better apparatus and better means of statistical analysis,”
said Brooke T. Mossman, of the University of Vermont College of
Medicine, another member of the conference organizing committee.
Lung diseases not well
understood
Lung diseases are among the most common and
recognizable to the public: asthma, emphysema, lung cancer, cystic
fibrosis and pulmonary fibrosis, to name a few. But the lung is a very
complicated organ and these diseases are not well understood, Pitt said.
One puzzle has been why, when different people are exposed to toxic
agents like asbestos or cigarette smoke, some develop disease and others
don’t.
“Environmental agents such as asbestos cause
disease, but there is also a genetic susceptibility,” Mossman explained.
Because individuals react differently to the same exposure, progress in
the diagnosis and treatment of these diseases has been slowed. If
researchers can find the genes that make some people susceptible, it
will greatly enhance progress toward early detection, treatment and a
cure, she said.
Using cutting edge methods, researchers are now
finding molecules, known as biomarkers, associated with particular
diseases. In most instances, it is not yet clear whether they cause the
disease or are simply associated with it. But researchers hope these
biomarkers can be used to
-
predict who will develop a disease
-
direct earlier treatment to those at risk
-
develop animal models to study the development of the
disease and find out what role, if any, the biomarkers play
Some biomarkers have already been found and put to
use, Mossman noted. For instance, Harvey Pass and colleagues at the NYU
School of Medicine found that the protein, osteopontin,
predicts who will develop mesothelioma, a tumor of the lung
cavity, after being exposed to asbestos. Best of all, the marker can be
detected with a blood test.
Another scientist, Jan Schnitzer of the Sidney
Kimmel Cancer Center in San Diego, has developed a technique that allows
the study of key genes and proteins of the lung’s blood vessels without
removing them from the lung, Pitt said. When researchers remove these
cells from the lung, they can behave in unpredictable ways, a
shortcoming to research in this area up to this point, he added.
Once scientists have identified the molecules that
are crucial to a disease, said Pitt, they become the target for new
therapeutic interventions such as drugs, he said.
Among the symposia that will take place at the
conference are the genomic and proteomic approaches to
-
studying lung disease
-
developing therapeutic targets for new drugs
-
understanding airway and vascular disease
-
understanding acute lung injury and inflammation
The media can attend this fascinating conference by
contacting Christine Guilfoy, at
cguilfoy@the-aps.org or at (301) 634-7253. For reporters who cannot
attend, arrangements can be made in many cases for telephone interviews
with scientists. Please go to
http://www.the-aps.org/meetings/aps/ftlauderdale/index.htm for more
about the program.
The
American Physiological Society was founded in 1887 to foster basic and
applied bioscience. The Bethesda, Maryland-based society has 10,500
members and publishes 14 peer-reviewed journals containing almost 4,000
articles annually.
APS
provides a wide range of research, educational and career support and
programming to further the contributions of physiology to understanding
the mechanisms of diseased and healthy states. In 2004, APS received
the Presidential Award for Excellence in
Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring.
