Pulmonary Injury Remodeling and Repair – PIRR

Topics

• Basic lung cell physiology, typically in the context of injury and repair. Topics may focus on airway epithelial cell biology, including the regulation of secretion of mucins, control of cilia, and development of goblet cell metaplasia; Resolution, repair, remodeling and/or fibrosis which involve studies conducted in cellular and/or in vivo models of lung injury/repair – may include the effects of injury on alveolar epithelial cells (AEC) remodeling, cell state transition, goblet cell metaplasia and/or extracellular matrix turnover.
• Lung diseases and syndromes, generally involving disrupted pulmonary function. Conditions may include, but are not limited to, Acute Lung Injury (ALI); Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS); Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (BPD); Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD); Pulmonary fibrosis (PF). For proposed studies focused on Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM), PIRR evaluates those which explore the consequences of LAM growth, those which result in dysregulated lung function and respiratory failure caused by lung tissue injury/destruction.
• Fibrosing lung diseases: Role of stem cells, mesenchymal cells, epithelial dysfunction/senescence or homeostasis or alveolar macrophages; fibrosis in granulomatous diseases (sarcoid), idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and ILD; pleural disease, and other forms of structural lung disease.
• Physiological responses in the respiratory tract, including conditions which involve immune cells, immune mechanisms and/or responses involving Airway/lung pathology. Studies may explore Airway epithelial cells, Airway smooth muscle, adrenergic agonists and receptors, surfactant proteins, and genetic predisposition in the context of chronic bronchitis, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Shared Interests and Overlaps

There are shared interests with Lung Immunology and Infection (LII). Pathogen-induced fibrotic response and lung injury and remodeling may be reviewed in LII, whereas those focused on environmental, idiopathic, and non-infectious fibrosis in the lung may be reviewed in PIRR.

There are shared interests with Pulmonary Vascular Disease and Physiology (PVP). Applications focused on respiratory physiology, genetics, biophysics, biomechanics, and imaging of the lung may be reviewed in PVP, whereas applications involving the study of cellular and molecular mechanisms of lung injury and repair may be reviewed in PIRR.

There are shared interests with Translational Investigations of Pulmonary and Immunological Diseases (RCCS (81)) regarding pulmonary diseases. While PIRR will evaluate basic or physiological topics in the lung, applications which propose to create novel experimental systems to model human lung diseases may be reviewed in RCCS (81).

There are shared interests with Immune Mechanisms of Hypersensitivity and Allergy (IMHA). Applications studying immune mechanisms and/or responses, either innate or adaptive, in the context of upper and lower respiratory tract-related hypersensitivities and allergic diseases (e.g., allergic asthma and chronic rhinosinusitis) may be reviewed in IMHA. Applications focused more generally on aspects of lung physiology and function may be reviewed in PIRR.

There are shared interests with Surgery, Anesthesiology, and Trauma (SAT). Applications involving the study of systemic injury and responses to sepsis may be reviewed in SAT. Applications associated with acute lung injury (ALI) caused by sepsis, those focused on the mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of ALI, and development of stem cell-based and pharmacological approaches for treatment may be reviewed in PIRR.

There are shared interests with cancer-related study sections in the Basic and Translational Cancer (BTC), Cancer Therapeutics (CTH), and Cancer Diagnosis, Prevention and Therapeutics (CDPT) review branches. Applications focused on basic mechanisms of LAM tumor/neoplasm initiation and progression, including metastasis/homing of LAM cells from extrapulmonary origin to the lung may be reviewed in BTC. Applications focused on therapeutic approaches to treating LAM, including the use cancer-based strategies (e.g., immunotherapy) may be reviewed in CTH or CDPT. Applications addressing mechanisms of lung tissue injury/destruction resulting from infiltration and growth of LAM cells, leading to dysregulation of lung function and respiratory failure may be reviewed in PIRR.

There are shared interests with the bioengineering-related study section, namely Biomaterials and Biointerfaces Study Section (BMBI). Applications involving early stages of development of these strategies and technologies may be reviewed in BMBI, whereas applications focused on lung tissue engineering that involve validation of bioengineering strategies for lung repair and regeneration may be reviewed in PIRR.

There are shared interests with Cellular Mechanisms in Aging and Development (CMAD). Applications focused on cell senescence, proteostasis, and tissue repair and regeneration in the context of aging may be reviewed in CMAD. Applications focused on molecular and cellular mechanisms of chronic lung diseases linked to aging, such as COPD and pulmonary fibrosis, may be reviewed in PIRR. 

There are shared interests with Development-1 (DEV 1). Applications addressing early embryonic development may be reviewed in DEV1. Developmental biology applications focused on embryonic and postnatal lung development may be reviewed in PIRR. 

There are shared interests with Pregnancy and Neonatology (PN). Fetal biology and neonatology applications may be reviewed in PN. Applications which focus on fetal and postnatal lung development and lung diseases associated with a defect in lung development, such as BPD, may be reviewed in PIRR. 

There are shared interests in lung injury with Environmental Determinants of Disease (EDD). Applications that emphasize lung toxicology (such as particulate AI pollutants, tobacco, cannabis, and/or vaping) may be reviewed in EDD. Applications that address adverse effects of environmental or other toxicants on the lung in the context of lung development, lung injury/repair, emphysema, and interstitial lung diseases such as sarcoidosis and asbestosis may be reviewed in PIRR.