Borna Mehrad
Primary Appointment
- Professor, Medicine- Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine
Contact
- Email: mehrad@virginia.edu
Research Interest(s)
Pulmonary anti-microbial host defense
Research Description
Our lab is interested in the innate defenses of the lung against inhaled microorganisms. The gas exchange surface of the the lung represents a huge interface between the body and the environment, and it is constantly barraged by microorganisms that are inhaled or aspirated. We have evolved a complex and highly effective set of defenses that kill the vast majority of microorganisms quickly once they arrive on this surface. Our lab studies these innate immune mechanisms in the context of mouse models, in response to two commonly inhaled pathogens: the mould, Aspergillus fumigatus, and the Gram negative bacterium, Klebsiella pneumoniae.
A. fumigatus is the most common cause of invasive aspergillosis, a severe infection in immunocompromised hosts. Allergic airwayresponses to the same organism can cause illness in immunocompetent individuals. Much of our work in invasive aspergillosis has focused on the role of a lymphocytes subset, natural killer cells. Specifically, we are examining the mechanisms of influx, activation, and anti-microbial effector functions of NK cells in this infection.
K. pneumoniae is a frequent cause of Gram negative bacterial pneumonia, a serious infection in hospitalized patients. In the context of this infection, we have found a genetic locus that confers a marked resistance to this infection in a mouse model of this infection. We are in the process of defining the mechanism of protection that this locus confers.