Dr. David Lakey completed a Pediatric and Adult Infectious Diseases fellowship at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He spent 2 years in Dr. Douglas Kernodle's laboratory, studying expression of mycobacterial genes in E. coli. Dr. Lakey received 1 of only 3 fellowships awarded by the Pediatric Infectious Disease Society and was the 1998 Grant Liddle Scholar, given to the best research fellow in the Vanderbilt University Department of Medicine. Dr. Lakey has a superb grasp of molecular microbiology. His ability to think independently, use novel approaches to solve problems, and interact with other scientists make him an excellent candidate for a career in biomedical research. The UT Health Center at Tyler has a long-term commitment to excellence in tuberculosis research, and 5 NIH-funded investigators there are currently engaged in research in mycobacterial disease. The institution is committed to Dr. Lakey's career development and has provided him with a fully equipped laboratory and support staff. Dr. Peter Barnes, an accomplished investigator in tuberculosis, will serve as Dr. Lakey's mentor, and an Advisory Committee of 6 other experienced scientists will provide guidance to Dr. Lakey. Dr. Lakey will devote 90 percent effort to this proposal. The research project is to identify genes of M. tuberculosis that contribute to enhanced mycobacterial growth in macrophages. This information will facilitate development of attenuated M. tuberculosis strains as vaccines, as well as design of drugs for treatment and prevention of tuberculosis.
Our specific aims are: 1) To establish methods to quantitate mRNA expression of intracellular mycobacteria, using competitive RT-PCR; 2) To evaluate differential gene expression of laboratory and clinical M. tuberculosis strains during intracellular growth, using competitive RT-PCR, differential display-PCR and mycobacterial microarrays. We will identify genes that are differentially expressed by M. tuberculosis strains that grow at different rates in macrophages; 3) To determine the functional effects of differentially expressed genes identified in aim 2 on intracellular mycobacterial growth. Candidate mycobacterial genes associated with rapid intracellular growth will be expressed by E. coli and by M. tuberculosis H37Ra to assess their effects on intracellular growth. In addition to this research project, Dr. Lakey will take didactic courses offered by the Master's Program in Biotechnology, and participate in other educational activities within and outside of the institution.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
Type
Clinical Investigator Award (CIA) (K08)
Project #
1K08HL004298-01
Application #
6088021
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZHL1-CSR-K (F2))
Project Start
2000-04-18
Project End
2005-03-31
Budget Start
2000-04-18
Budget End
2001-03-31
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2000
Total Cost
$133,920
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Texas Health Center at Tyler
Department
Internal Medicine/Medicine
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
City
Tyler
State
TX
Country
United States
Zip Code
75708
Wu, Shiping; Howard, Susan T; Lakey, David L et al. (2004) The principal sigma factor sigA mediates enhanced growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in vivo. Mol Microbiol 51:1551-62
Safi, Hassan; Gormus, Bobby J; Didier, Peter J et al. (2003) Spectrum of manifestations of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in primates infected with SIV. AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 19:585-95
Barnes, Peter F; Lakey, David L; Burman, William J (2002) Tuberculosis in patients with HIV infection. Infect Dis Clin North Am 16:107-26
Samten, Buka; Ghosh, Paritosh; Yi, Ae-Kyung et al. (2002) Reduced expression of nuclear cyclic adenosine 5'-monophosphate response element-binding proteins and IFN-gamma promoter function in disease due to an intracellular pathogen. J Immunol 168:3520-6
Vankayalapati, Ramakrishna; Wizel, Benjamin; Weis, Stephen E et al. (2002) The NKp46 receptor contributes to NK cell lysis of mononuclear phagocytes infected with an intracellular bacterium. J Immunol 168:3451-7
Lakey, David L; Zhang, Yueru; Talaat, Adel M et al. (2002) Priming reverse transcription with oligo(dT) does not yield representative samples of Mycobacterium tuberculosis cDNA. Microbiology 148:2567-72
Vankayalapati, R; Wizel, B; Lakey, D L et al. (2001) T cells enhance production of IL-18 by monocytes in response to an intracellular pathogen. J Immunol 166:6749-53