Richard A. King, Principal Investigator
Marshall I. Hertz, Co-Principal Investigator

Microarray Analysis of Gene Expression Patterns

Lung and heart-lung transplantation have become highly effective means of treatment for over 10,000 individuals worldwide with diseases not responsive to other medical and surgical therapy. Chronic rejection is the most significant limiting factor to long-term survival of lung transplant recipients; acute allograft rejection is a major cause of morbidity and is the most common risk factor identified for the development of chronic rejection. The overall goal of this project is to use microarrays to identify gene expression patterns in bronchoalveolar cells and peripheral blood mononuclear cells of lung transplant recipients with and without rejection. In doing so, these researchers aim to identify biomarkers for the prevention, prediction, and treatment of acute and chronic allograft rejection.