The San Antonio Asthma and Allergic Diseases Cooperative Research Center (SA-AADCRC) represents a tightly focused, integrative and innovative effort to understand the role of Mycoplasma pneumoniae and its unique ADP-ribosylating and vacuolating toxin, designated Community Acquired Respiratory Distress Syndrome ToXin (CARDS TX) as important mediators of acute and chronic airway diseases, including new onset asthma and exacerbations, as well as persistent pulmonary dysfunction in children and adults. The basic science and clinical investigators who comprise the SA-AADCRC team share broad expertise and are highly collaborative. The SA-AADCRC's broad strategy of attack interlinks basic science and clinical research projects and cores. Project 1 uses the murine model and human materials to address fundamental questions on how CARDS TX induces asthma-like disease and exacerbates allergic pulmonary inflammation. Project 2 focuses on identifying CARDS TX ADP-ribosylating airway protein targets, delineating functionally important CARDS TX domains and essential amino acids that mediate CARDS TX binding to human surfactant protein A (SP-A) and airway cells, and generating antibody reagents that block/neutralize CARDS TX. Project 3 applies state-of-the-art biophysical techniques to uncover the structure and action of CARDS TX by using single crystal X-ray diffraction to determine CARDS TX three dimensional structure in the presence and absence of its cofactor NAD; neutralizing monoclonal antibody Fab fragments; and surfactant protein-A (SP-A). Clinical Core will collect human material from subjects with well controlled asthma, poorly controlled asthma and healthy controls and help in evaluation and follow-up of patient-related studies. Diagnostic Core will process clinical and experimental samples for diagnostic analysis by providing highly sensitive and specific diagnostic assays for rapid detection of M. pneumoniae CARDS TX. Pathology Core will provide necessary biopsy and necropsy procedures, lung pathology interpretation, histochemical and immunocytochemical evaluations, and qualitative and semiquantitative histopathologicai analyses. Administrative Core will oversee all SA-AADCRC-related activities and coordinate interactions and collaborations between projects and cores. Therefore, the SA-AADCRC represents a network of collaborators/colleagues who continuously ask fundamental and translational questions about asthma, airway-related pathologies, immunopathogenesis, and M. pneumoniae/CARDS TX biology and virulence mechanisms.

Public Health Relevance

The SA-AADCRC is committed to clarifying how Mycoplasma pneumoniae and its unique ADP ribosylating and vacuolating toxin, designated Community Acquired Respiratory Distress Syndrome ToXin (CARDS TX) causes asthma and allergic diseases and to providing rational strategies that lead to the development of new and novel diagnostics and therapeutics for the treatment and prevention of pulmonary diseases.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Type
Research Program--Cooperative Agreements (U19)
Project #
5U19AI070412-10
Application #
8897848
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZAI1-PA-I (M1))
Program Officer
Dong, Gang
Project Start
2006-08-15
Project End
2016-07-31
Budget Start
2015-08-01
Budget End
2016-07-31
Support Year
10
Fiscal Year
2015
Total Cost
$2,053,625
Indirect Cost
$672,328
Name
University of Texas Health Science Center
Department
Microbiology/Immun/Virology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
800772162
City
San Antonio
State
TX
Country
United States
Zip Code
78229
Ramasamy, Kumaraguruparan; Balasubramanian, Sowmya; Manickam, Krishnan et al. (2018) Mycoplasma pneumoniae Community-Acquired Respiratory Distress Syndrome Toxin Uses a Novel KELED Sequence for Retrograde Transport and Subsequent Cytotoxicity. MBio 9:
Maselli, Diego J; Medina, Jorge L; Brooks, Edward G et al. (2018) The Immunopathologic Effects of Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Community-acquired Respiratory Distress Syndrome Toxin. A Primate Model. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol 58:253-260
Segovia, Jesus A; Chang, Te-Hung; Winter, Vicki T et al. (2018) NLRP3 Is a Critical Regulator of Inflammation and Innate Immune Cell Response during Mycoplasma pneumoniae Infection. Infect Immun 86:
Benedetto, Roberta; Ousingsawat, Jiraporn; Wanitchakool, Podchanart et al. (2017) Epithelial Chloride Transport by CFTR Requires TMEM16A. Sci Rep 7:12397
Steed, Ashley L; Christophi, George P; Kaiko, Gerard E et al. (2017) The microbial metabolite desaminotyrosine protects from influenza through type I interferon. Science 357:498-502
Sundaram, Aparna; Chen, Chun; Khalifeh-Soltani, Amin et al. (2017) Targeting integrin ?5?1 ameliorates severe airway hyperresponsiveness in experimental asthma. J Clin Invest 127:365-374
Wood, Pamela R; Kampschmidt, Jordan C; Dube, Peter H et al. (2017) Mycoplasma pneumoniae and health outcomes in children with asthma. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 119:146-152.e2
Shen, Haiqian; Gonzalez-Juarbe, Norberto; Blanchette, Krystle et al. (2016) CD8(+) T cells specific to a single Yersinia pseudotuberculosis epitope restrict bacterial replication in the liver but fail to provide sterilizing immunity. Infect Genet Evol 43:289-96
Buchheit, Kathleen M; Cahill, Katherine N; Katz, Howard R et al. (2016) Thymic stromal lymphopoietin controls prostaglandin D2 generation in patients with aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease. J Allergy Clin Immunol 137:1566-1576.e5
Cahill, Katherine N; Raby, Benjamin A; Zhou, Xiaobo et al. (2016) Impaired E Prostanoid2 Expression and Resistance to Prostaglandin E2 in Nasal Polyp Fibroblasts from Subjects with Aspirin-Exacerbated Respiratory Disease. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol 54:34-40

Showing the most recent 10 out of 41 publications