View clinical trials related to Berylliosis.
Filter by:This study will provide important results for each aim, while also providing an integrative transcriptional and epigenomic profile of CBD. In Aim 1 the Investigator will define genome-wide epigenetic alterations of CBD, by determining genes that are DM in pivotal immune cells, in the target organ (CD4+ BAL cells) in CBD compared to BeS and healthy controls. In addition, the Investigator will determine the impact of Be exposure on the methylation profile of CBD and BeS cells compared to each other and normal controls. This information will be used to define DM regions, genes and their networks. Using the cases and controls from Aim 1, we will evaluate the gene-expression from these same subjects in Aim 2 to define functional epigenetic loci based on DE in CD4+ BAL cells with and without Be exposure. The Investigator will also integrate ENCODE/RE methylation, histone modification, and chromatin accessibility data as well as our genome-wide association study (GWAS) data to prioritize epigenetic marks and networks for confirmation and validation in Aim 3. In Aim 3, the Investigator will test the generalizability of their findings, explore the potential of methylation marks as biomarkers of disease in PBMCs and determine if change in methylation of these targets with AZA or folic acid affects key immune and regulatory pathways in a second set of CBD and BeS subjects. Throughout the Aims, the Investigator will use both fresh CD4+ T cells to directly assess disease relevance and Be-stimulated cultured CD4+ T cells (compared to unstimulated cultured T cells) to assess the impact of environmental exposure .
Current studies suggest that alveolar macrophages (AM) act as silencers of most immune responses in the lung. However, in pathological conditions, such as asthma, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, and sarcoidosis, AMs become involved in the maintenance and further expansion of the immune response in the target organ. The Investigator has preliminary data demonstrating that CBD AMs at the site of disease involvement (bronchoalveolar lavage, BAL) display an activated cell surface phenotype compared to AMs from healthy controls. Furthermore, exciting data from our group demonstrates significant differences in gene expression profiles between CBD and Beryllium Sensitivity (BeS) bronchial alveolar lavage (BAL) cells, in pivotal immune response genes and networks. Specifically, the Investigator has found the JAK/STAT pathway and the JAK2 gene was dramatically overexpressed in CBD BAL cells. In addition, constitutively phosphorylated JAK2 (pJAK2) was found in AMs from Chronic Beryllium Disease (CBD) patients by Westernblot and was increased after beryllium (Be) stimulation for 30 min. Moreover, the JAK2 inhibitor TG101348 significantly inhibited Be-induced CBD AMs TNFa and IFNy production. Meanwhile, overexpression of the JAK2 inhibitor SOCS 1 (suppressors of cytokine signaling) protein decreased Be-induced TNFa production from AMs. Based on this information, the Investigator hypothesizes that CBD AMs overexpress JAK2, which augments the immune response to Be and development of CBD but not BeS. The investigators believe that these studies are highly innovative since they will undoubtedly shed light on exposure-mediated immune dysregulation in Alveolar Macrophages (AMs) that lead to disease development and likely progression and with additional study of this pathway will reveal potential biomarkers for clinical prognosis and diagnosis. The results obtained from this study will improve the investigators understanding of factors involved in the development of Chronic Beryllium disease (CBD), as well as define targets for therapy, and will serve as a model of other exposure-related immune responses and environmentally-induced chronic diseases. Most importantly, these studies will provide the investigator with preliminary data to submit a high quality R01, allowing the Investigator to apply similar approaches to other genes, define a potential target for this and other similar immune-mediated diseases and continue research efforts at National Jewish Health (NJH.)
The purpose of this study is to understand if a drug called mesalamine helps to control inflammation associated with chronic beryllium disease (CBD). We hypothesize that in CBD subjects treated with prednisone, mesalamine treatment will enhance the immunosuppressive effects of prednisone, and thus reduce the immune response to beryllium.
Granulomatous lung diseases are diseases in which inflamed clusters of white cells, known as granulomas, form in lung tissue. Chronic beryllium disease (CBD) and sarcoidosis are two granulomatous diseases that share similar clinical symptoms, physiological changes in the lungs, and immune responses to the disease. Genetic variations may make some people more susceptible to developing CBD or sarcoidosis. This study will identify common genetic regions associated with increased risk of developing the granulomatous diseases CBD and sarcoidosis.