Program Description
The primary focus of our laboratory is to understand the signaling pathways evoked by G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and the role of specific gene protein pathways in the pathogenesis of asthma and other allergic diseases. Although therapeutic agents targeting GPCRs have long been used to treat asthma and allergies, much remains unknown about how their signaling cascades drive the immune system. Our section focuses on the role of a family of inhibitory proteins known as regulators of G protein signaling (RGS). Our goals are to understand specific GPCRs, G proteins, and RGS proteins that mediate three distinct but overlapping processes: 1) migration of leukocytes to inflammatory sites; 2) bronchial smooth muscle contraction and relaxation; and 3) vascular permeability. We use mouse models of skin and pulmonary inflammation as well as clinical studies. Of particular interest is a rare and highly unusual disorder, the systemic capillary leak syndrome. This disease is characterized by reversible episodes of hypovolemia, hypotensive shock, and ansarca, which are thought to be a result of transient endothelial hyperpermeability.
Biography
Dr. Druey obtained his M.D. from Rush Medical College in Chicago, Illinois. In 1992, following a residency in internal medicine at The New York Hospital/Cornell Medical Center, Dr. Druey became a postdoctoral fellow in the NIAID Laboratory of Immunoregulation. He joined the Laboratory of Allergic Diseases in 1997 to become chief of the Molecular Signal Transduction Section (MSTS).
Group Members
Zhihui (Sherry) Xie, Ph.D
Tolga Barker, Ph.D.
Nariman Balenga, Ph.D.
Sucharita Shankar, Ph.D.
Shoko Iwaki, M.D., Ph.D.
Selected Publications
Liang G, Barker T, Charles N, Xie Z, Rivera J, Druey KM. Naïve T cells sense the cysteine protease allergen papain and propel T helper type 2 immunity. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2012. In press.
Xie Z, Ghosh CC, Patel R, Iwaki S, Gaskins D, Nelson C, Jones N, Greipp PR, Parikh SM, Druey KM. Vascular endothelial hyperpermeability induces the clinical symptoms of Clarkson disease (the systemic capillary leak syndrome). Blood. 2012 Mar 15. Epub ahead of print.
Yang Z, Balenga N, Cooper PR, Damera G, Edwards R, Brightling CE, Panettieri RA Jr, Druey KM. RGS5 inhibits bronchial smooth muscle contraction in severe asthma. Amer J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 2012 Jan 26. Epub ahead of print.
Druey KM, Greipp PR. Narrative review: the systemic capillary leak syndrome. Ann Intern Med.2010 Jul 20;153(2):90-8.
Visit PubMed for a complete publications listing.
