Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
Role of environmental and occupational exposures in respiratory disease, including chronic inflammation and carcinogenesis
Role of the innate immune system in pulmonary neoplastic and non-neoplastic diseases
Investigating the role of PAHs in respiratory diseases induced by secondhand smoke and other environmental exposures, such as air pollution
Secondhand smoke (SHS) and air pollution are associated with many diseases including respiratory diseases, such as childhood and adult asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and lung cancer.[1,2] Some occupations in the U.S. still have high exposures to SHS, such as casino workers, and environmentally with apartment dwellers.[3-7] In 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated 9 in 10 people globally breathe polluted, toxic air. The WHO was quoted stating that “Air pollution is the new tobacco”. Unfortunately, due to the latency of many chronic pulmonary diseases, individuals exposed to SHS and air pollution can observe effects years after exposure. Thus, the effects of these exposures are a real concern for human health at all ages.
Our research in collaboration with Dr. Brad Upham (Michigan State University) focuses on the most abundant PAHs in SHS and air pollution, the two-four-ringed PAHs (such as fluoranthene)[8-10] and their role in pulmonary inflammation and cell-cell communication (see SHS PAHs and adverse lung effects; SHS PAHs and eicosanoid signaling; SHS PAHs and inflammatory mediators). Recent studies focus on the investigation of downstream signaling events following several “omics” studies. We are particularly interested in understanding the role of bioactive lipids in mediating the effects of PAHs in diseases such as asthma and cancer.
Current projects
References
Role of the innate immune system in lung cancer
Current projects
Current lab members
Former lab members
National
International
Romo D, Velmurugan K, Upham BL, Dwyer-Nield LD, Bauer AK. Dysregulation of Gap Junction Function and Cytokine Production in Response to Non-Genotoxic Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in an In Vitro Lung Cell Model. Cancers (Basel). 2019 Apr 23;11(4). doi: 10.3390/cancers11040572. PubMed PMID: 31018556; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6521202.
Siegrist KJ, Romo D, Upham BL, Armstrong M, Quinn K, Vanderlinden L, Osgood RS, Velmurugan K, Elie M, Manke J, Reinhold D, Reisdorph N, Saba L, Bauer AK. Early Mechanistic Events Induced by Low Molecular Weight Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Mouse Lung Epithelial Cells: A Role for Eicosanoid Signaling. Toxicol Sci. 2019 May 1;169(1):180-193. doi: 10.1093/toxsci/kfz030. PubMed PMID: 30690640; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6484882.
Shin N, Velmurugan K, Su C, Bauer AK, Tsai CSJ. Assessment of fine particles released during paper printing and shredding processes. Environ Sci Process Impacts. 2019 May 3;. doi: 10.1039/c9em00015a. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 31049512.
Bauer AK, Umer M, Richardson VL, Cumpian AM, Harder AQ, Khosravi N, Azzegagh Z, Hara NM, Ehre C, Mohebnasab M, Caetano MS, Merrick DT, van Bokhoven A, Wistuba II, Kadara H, Dickey BF, Velmurugan K, Mann PR, Lu X, Barón AE, Evans CM, Moghaddam SJ. Requirement for MUC5AC in KRAS-dependent lung carcinogenesis. JCI Insight. 2018 Aug 9;3(15). doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.120941. eCollection 2018 Aug 9. PubMed PMID: 30089720; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6129115.
Johnson M, Alsaleh N, Mendoza RP, Persaud I, Bauer AK, Saba L, Brown JM. Genomic and transcriptomic comparison of allergen and silver nanoparticle-induced mast cell degranulation reveals novel non-immunoglobulin E mediated mechanisms. PLoS One. 2018;13(3):e0193499. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0193499. eCollection 2018. PubMed PMID: 29566008; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5863960.
Bauer AK, Velmurugan K, Plöttner S, Siegrist KJ, Romo D, Welge P, Brüning T, Xiong KN, Käfferlein HU. Environmentally prevalent polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons can elicit co-carcinogenic properties in an in vitro murine lung epithelial cell model. Arch Toxicol. 2018 Mar;92(3):1311-1322. doi: 10.1007/s00204-017-2124-5. Epub 2017 Nov 23. PubMed PMID: 29170806; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5866845.
Bauer AK, Upham BL, Rondini EA, Tennis MA, Velmuragan K, Wiese D. Toll-like receptor expression in human non-small cell lung carcinoma: potential prognostic indicators of disease. Oncotarget. 2017 Nov 3;8(54):91860-91875. doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.19463. eCollection 2017 Nov 3. PubMed PMID: 29190881; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5696147.
Osgood RS, Upham BL, Bushel PR, Velmurugan K, Xiong KN, Bauer AK. Secondhand Smoke-Prevalent Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Binary Mixture-Induced Specific Mitogenic and Pro-inflammatory Cell Signaling Events in Lung Epithelial Cells. Toxicol Sci. 2017 May 1;157(1):156-171. doi: 10.1093/toxsci/kfx027. PubMed PMID: 28329830; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5808746.