Organ-Specific Blood Signatures for Host Response to Infections

Abstract : The overall objective for this project was to discover and validate host molecular fingerprints that classify inhaled microbial (bacterial and viral) biothreat agents affecting the lung. Aerosol infection experiments were performed in mice and primates, and host biomarkers were identified in lung tissue and peripheral blood plasma that classify the identity of the infectious agents. Through extensive experiments in mice, biomarkers were identified that distinguish between different bacterial biothreat agents, between virulent and less-virulent strains of the same bacterial agents, between biothreat and non-biothreat lung pathogenic agents, and that distinguish between bacterial and viral biothreat agents. Biomarkers were identified that classify the biothreat agents during the pre-symptomatic phase of the infection time course, and that are consistently useful when sampled at any of the time points throughout the time course of the infection. Blood biomarkers were identified in the mouse model of infection that also were useful as blood biomarkers in limited studies performed in two primate models of biothreat infections