Systemic sclerosis (SSc;scleroderma) is an idiopathic disorder of connective tissue characterized by increased production and deposition of collagen in the skin and internal organs such as the lungs and kidneys. The etiology of SSc is unknown, necessitating ongoing investigation into its cause and possible cure. Since the use of ACE inhibitors for the treatment of renal involvement, interstitial lung disease (ILD) has become the most common cause of death in SSc. The pulmonary complications of SSc are often underrecognized until their later stages. Fifty to 80% of all SSc patients have pulmonary disease, most commonly ILD and pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). This further emphasizes the critical importance of defining markers for risk of developing PAH and ILD, identifying better screening tools, and facilitating earlier detection. Currently, no therapies are available which have been shown in placebo-controlled studies to halt the progression of PF or PAH in SSc or reverse it, and lung transplantation remains the only option. Through the Lung Pathology Core, we propose to generate lung tissue microarrays that will provide a unique and valuable resource for the SSc Core Investigators and the Scleroderma research community to conduct high throughput screening of proteins and mRNA in disease and control tissues using sections generated simultaneously from multiple patient samples. We will also provide comprehensive clinical information on patients from whom lung tissues are obtained thus facilitating correlation studies of tissue microarray analysis and disease clinical variables. This will facilitate studies exploring the pathogenesis of lung disease as well as propel research in the field, which has been hampered by the unavailability of patient lung samples. We also propose to utilize a similar approach and provide a service for investigators conducting animal research who wish to examine samples from multiple animal model treatment time points or different models simultaneously. Our approach will thus generate valuable resources and a unique service for Core users and Scleroderma research, and will thus contribute to a better understanding of key molecules involved the pathogenesis of SSc-associated lung disease.
Lung disease in SSc is a devastating complication often leading to death. Accesss to pathological samples is limited but these samples can be obtained at the time of lung transplant. This Core will provide arrayed samples of lung tissues from patients undergoing lung transplant, enabling investigators to quickly evaluate the role of different proteins under study in the pathogenesis of pulmonary disease in SSc.
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