Research led by Dr. Jay Kolls, Professor and Chairman of Genetics at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, has identified a therapeutic target for acute lung injury resulting in acute respiratory distress syndrome, a highly fatal complication of influenza infection. The research, which will be published in The Journal of Immunology in October, is currently available in the Next in the JI section online at http://0-www.jimmunol.org.innopac.lsuhsc.edu/cgi/reprint/jimmunol.0900995v1.
Interleukin-17 (IL-17), an immune system cell involved in proinflammatory response, is a potent regulator of neutrophils (white blood cells). Following infection, IL-17 uses a signaling receptor called IL-17RA to direct large numbers of neutrophils to the infection. Neutrophils play a key role in the development of acute lung injury because they rapidly infiltrate the lung and are an important source of cytokines (immunomodulating agents), a byproduct of which is swelling, fluid in the lungs, and low levels of oxygen in the blood.