Grant: Operating Grant

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a chronic lung disease that follows ventilator and oxygen treatment for acute failure to breath in babies born very prematurely (24-28 weeks of gestation instead of 40). BPD is a major complication of prematurity with a short and long term burden for infants and their families. Damage to the still developing lung stops the normal formation of the alveoli (the air sacs in the lung that allows the uptake of oxygen and release of waste carbon dioxide). Currently there is no treatment for this disease. Our laboratory is seeking new medications to either protect or heal the damaged lung. We try to understand if the tiny blood vessels that run along the air sacs contribute to normal lung growth and if stimulating the growth of these vessels can prevent lung damage or repair an already damaged lung. We are exploring if a "master" transcription factor called HIF (hypoxia inducible factor) that turns on several blood vessel-making growth factors, is important for normal lung development and can prevent lung injury. Very recent evidence suggests that the lung also contains the very first cells that make blood vessels, so called endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs). We will be exploring how important these cells are for normal lung development and if they can be used to prevent lung injury. Our proposal will test if HIF or EPCs can repair lungs in experimental BPD induced by high oxygen concentrations. This research could lead to new treatments to improve the outcome of premature babies, but also of adults with incurable lung diseases.