Nathan Sandbo, MD, assistant professor, Allergy, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, has been awarded $153,000 over two years from the National Institutes of Health - National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for a proposal entitled "TNS1 in cell-matrix interactions and pulmonary fibrosis."

Dr. Sandbo focuses his research program on idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a condition characterized by unrelenting scarring and stiffening of the lungs. IPF is usually fatal within 3-4 years after diagnosis. The cause is unknown, and no cure is available at present.

Previously, Dr. Sandbo and members of his laboratory identified a protein named tensin involved in forming a three-dimensional structure (the fibronectin matrix) that surrounds lung cells.

A single mutation in the gene (TNS1) that encodes tensin impairs lung function, but exactly how tensin controls the assembly and function of the extracellular matrix of injured lung tissue is unknown.

Researchers will perform laboratory experiments using lung fibroblast cells to determine how introducing different mutations that abolish or enhance the function of tensin affects components of the extracellular matrix. Additional animal studies will investigate the role of tensin in mice.

"These data will be critical for understanding how TNS1 mediates cell-matrix interactions and modifies extracellular matrix formation," said Dr. Sandbo.

Resources:

• Bernau K, Torr EE, Evans MD, Aoki JK, Ngam CR, Sandbo N. 2017. Tensin 1 Is Essential for Myofibroblast Differentiation and Extracellular Matrix Formation. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 56(4):465-476.