Adam Booth
e-mail address: boothaj@umich.edu

Mentor: Keith Bishop, PhD

Research Description

I am studying the immunologic and molecular components of chronic heart transplant rejection. The pathogenesis of chronic rejection is characterized by excessive deposition of fibrotic tissue and the occlusion of blood vessels within the graft. Recently, we and others have identified cardiac hypertrophy as an additional indicator of the disease. In our investigations we have demonstrated that IL-6 functions as a key factor in promoting fibrosis and hypertrophy associated with chronic rejection. Further investigations have indicated that IL-6 functions in concert with Transforming growth factor beta to induce connective tissue growth factor (CTGF). CTGF plays a significant role in promoting graft fibrosis and graft hypertrophy, though to a lesser degree. Thus, my work indicates that IL-6 and CTGF may provide therapeutic inroads to treat this disease.

Publications

Critical Role for IL-6 in Hypertrophy and Fibrosis in Chronic Cardiac Allograft Rejection. J. A. Diaz,‡, A. J. Booth‡ , G. Lu, S. C. Wood, D. J. Pinsky and D. K. Bishop. ‡These authors contributed equally to this work. Am J Transplant. 2009 Jun 16. [Epub ahead of print]

Awards

American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowship