Grant: Project Grant

Traumatic injury is a major cause of death and disability among the civilian population. One of the major causes for these outcomes is loss of blood related to the injury. Patients either die due to massive blood loss or they survive but suffer from the morbid effects of the injury. Blood loss, also known as hemorrhagic shock, contributes to these effects by injuring cells, leading to poor function of entire organs. One important way that shock exerts this effect is by causing dysfunction of mitochondria, the main source of energy in cells. Our group has recently demonstrated that a simple intervention, performed by applying a tourniquet to an extremity, and cycling it on and off, so called "Remote Ischemic Conditioning (RIC)" can protect against cellular and organ damage. Our preliminary studies indicate that RIC might exert these effects by improving mitochondrial quality. The purpose of our studies is to examine the effect of shock on mitochondrial quality and understand how RIC might lessen the detrimental effect of hemorrhagic shock on their function. Together, these studies will elucidate potentially novel therapeutic targets aimed at improving outcomes in people sustaining traumatic injury.