Background: Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is an out of control inflammatory process in the body as a result of a wide variety of causes, though the most common is infection. As part of the body’s immune system attempts to remove the bacterial or viral infection, white cells release large amounts of free radicals and inflammatory chemicals, though when uncontrolled this adds to the damage the infection is doing. Intense research in this field has continued for decades, unfortunately antibiotics and mechanical ventilators are the only real support for the patient. Many treatments have been trialled but the level of success has not warranted their use in hospitals, so new therapies will be massively beneficial.
Carbon monoxide (CO) at high levels is associated with death in fires etc, at low levels it has beneficial effects in inflammation and disease. Breathing CO with facemasks is possible but presents difficulties in monitoring safe levels and health and safety in hospitals or homes.
Aims: This project will utilise a chemical source of CO at low levels to treat signs of damage and inflammation similar to those seen in patients. This project will also examine how cells behave as a barrier, mimicking how cells operate in the alveoli of lungs.
Outcomes: We hypothesise carbon monoxide will improve the integrity of the barrier and learn if it has potential as a therapy. By improving our methodology using cells in these models we are also setting up these techniques for the benefit of future research
