This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Acute lung injury and its more severe form, the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), are common reasons for admission to the intensive care unit (ICU). In acute lung injury and ARDS, the tissues of the lungs fill up with white blood cells that are activated to release substances producing intense inflammation in the lungs. It is estimated that about 100,000 to 150,000 people per year in the U.S. have acute lung injury or ARDS. Death rates from this condition remain high, with about a third of patients with acute lung injury dying from this problem. Although there are many reasons for the development of acute lung injury, infection and particularly lung infections, like pneumonia, are among the most common reasons. This study is designed to find out why some people develop acute lung injury while others, with the same medical problems, don't have this problem. There are parts of bacterial organisms that seem to be responsible for tisssue damage and inflammation due to infection. One of these bacterial products is called endotoxin. In this study, we will place small amounts of endotoxin into a part of the lung and then see how much inflammation is produced. To put the endotoxin into the lung and then to collect specimens from the lungs, a procedure called a bronchoscopy is performed. A bronchoscopy is when a pencil-thin flexible tube is passed into the large airways of the lungs. The amounts of endotoxin to be used in this study cause inflammation in a small part of the lungs without affecting the general way the lungs function. Cells from the inflamed part of the lungs should be similar to those in patients with acute lung injury and will give us important information on why acute lung injury develops after pneumonias. These studies should provide us with important information about the reasons that people develop acute lung injury. These experiments also may help us develop treatments that will improve the care of patients with acute lung injury and reduce the number of people who die from this serious medical condition.
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