Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a chronic lung disease that afflicts many premature babies born 34 weeks or less of gestation. The premature babies must be given oxygen through a ventilator in order to survive; however, the high level of oxygen needed is toxic to their fragile lungs. Research is being done to find therapies that will prevent oxygen damage to infant’s lungs. I have been participating in this exciting pediatric research and have the privilege of working with Dr. Jonathan Wispe, a neonatologist at University Medical Center. In our research, a number of transgenic pups (baby mice) are exposed to 85% oxygen and the same number of pups is exposed to normal air. Each day, a pup is removed from both environments and their lungs are extracted. From the extracted lung tissue, experiments, such as RNA isolation, PCRs, DNA electrophoresis and Western blots can be done to find which genes are being turned on or off due to oxygen exposure. A certain growth factor, keratinocyte growth factor (KGF), has been found to protect the lung from damage by stimulating the proliferation of alveolar cells, which are responsible for oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange in the lungs. The experiments done on the lung tissues may be able to give us clues as to what triggers KGF or other important genes in lung protection. With further research, I am anxious to see developments made in the near future!

Kim Le, UBRPer in Dr. Jonathan Wispe’s lab, Pediatrics