Timeline of Research Achievements & Featured Articles
Variants of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Can Cause a Lot of Inflammation
Science Advances publication by Dao Nguyen shows that there are variants of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacteria commonly found in Cystic Fibrosis patients, that can cause a lot of inflammation. Nguyen’s team is the first to make the connection between the bacteria and inflammation. Lafayette et al, Sci Adv. 2015 Jul;1(6):e1500199.
Nurturing Nanotubes: Role of Nanotubes Between T Cells and Airway Smooth Muscle
Journal of Immunology Top 10% In this Issue: Nurturing Nanotubes. Publication by James Martin elucidates the functional role of nanotubes between T cells and airway smooth muscle. Al Heialy et al, J Immunol. 2015 Jun 15;194(12):5626-34.
2014
T Cells and Airway Smooth Muscle Interactions in Asthma
Perspectives Editorial in the J of Physiology. In the field, it was still unknown whether airway smooth muscle activation by activated T cell binding could also affect airway smooth muscle contractility. Work by the Lauzon group provides evidence for this targeted T cell–airway smooth muscle cell interaction resulting in increased airway smooth muscle shortening velocity. The work shows that inflammatory cells promote airway smooth muscle hypercontractility in airway hyper-responsiveness and asthma. Original publication: Matusovsky et al, J Physiol. 2014 Jul 15;592(14):2999-3012.
STAT-6 Inhibitory Peptide Inhibits Aberrant Th2 Responses in RSV Infection
European Journal of Immunology publication by Elizabeth Fixman. The STAT6 inhibitory peptide can educate the immune system away from developing an allergic response. STAT6 has been show to inhibit aberrant Th2 responses in the airways of preclinical models of respiratory syncytial virus infection. Srinivas et al. Eur J Immunol. 2014 Aug;44(8):2349-59.
Inhibition of PGE2 Increases Survival of Mice Infected With H1N1 Flu Virus
Immunity publication by William Powell, Maziar Divangahi revealed that a drug that inhibits PGE2 increases survival of mice infected with H1N1 flu virus. This finding paves the way for urgently needed novel therapies that may be effective against the flu and other viral infections. Coulombe et al, Immunity. 2014 Apr 17;40(4):554-68.
2011
Starved Bacteria Can Better Adapt and Survive
Science Perspectives Feature: Antioxidant strategies to tolerate antibiotics. Publication by Dao Nguyen identified that when bacteria are starved, it allows them to better adapt and survive. Nguyen et al. Science. 2011 Nov 18;334(6058):982-6.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Biofilms: New Insights on Antibiotic Tolerance
This Week in Science Feature: Arrest and Tolerate. Publication by Dao Nguyen is featured in “This Week in Science” for her work on Pseudomonas aeruginosa and biofilms: new insights on antibiotic tolerance. The publication shows that antibiotic tolerance occurs, not because the targets of antibiotics have become inactive during growth arrest, but because starvation-sensing mechanisms generate protective responses. Science, Nov 18, 2011, Vol 334, Issue 6058, pp 875-876
1972
Meakins-Christie Laboratories Founded
The Meakins-Christie Laboratories for Respiratory Research was officially opened in August 1972. From the beginning, the laboratories were designed to be interdisciplinary, and physiologists, physicians, epidemiologists, pathologists, radiologists, and biomedical engineers were invited to participate.