Penn Cardiovascular Institute Research Directory

Description of CVI Expertise

CVI Program Unit(s):
Myocyte Biology / Heart Failure
Pulmonary Vascular Disease

CVI Research Description:
My laboratory is investigating signaling mechanisms of smooth muscle cell proliferation and migration as it relates to:
1) the pathobiology of lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM);
2) pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH); and
3) asthma.

Recently, we had made a key contribution to the understanding of the molecular mechanisms regulating abnormal smooth muscle cell proliferation and migration in LAM. We identified the role of tumor suppressor TSC2 as a negative regulator of S6K1, and S6K1 as a molecular target to treat LAM disease. Our studies also identified rapamycin as a promising therapeutic strategy for LAM patients, and a Phase 1-2 clinical trail of rapamycin is currently being conducted at the Children's Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati. Current project which is oriented to fellow participation and related to cardiovascular research include bench (basic, signal transduction) project, which goal is to determine a role of PI3K-TSC1/TSC2-mTOR-S6K1 signaling pathway in regulating pulmonary arterial vascular smooth muscle cell growth and proliferation.