Luciana Padua Tavares, PhD

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a life-threatening lung condition with limited effective treatments. We will explore how the body’s own defense mechanisms—specifically involving immune cells called neutrophils and their communication with macrophages—can play a crucial role in lung healing. In ARDS, the inflammatory response can become uncontrolled, leading to lung damage. However, we have found that neutrophils, which are initially harmful, might hold a key to recovery. We have identified a unique subset of neutrophils capable of producing healing molecules known as Specialized Pro-resolving Mediators (SPMs) using an enzyme called 15-lipoxygenase. Our aim is to understand how the body repairs lung injury and apply our findings to ARDS patients. This could ultimately contribute to new treatments that harness the body's natural healing mechanisms by targeting specific neutrophil subsets to promote lung healing.

Update: In the first year of this project, we made a key discovery: not all immune cells that drive inflammation are harmful. We discovered that a specialized subset of immune cells, called neutrophils, plays a critical role in healing the lungs after injury. Unlike traditionally harmful neutrophils, these “pro-resolving” cells actively promote recovery by supporting tissue repair and healing of lung cells essential for breathing. We identified a key pathway involving the enzyme 15-lipoxygenase that drives these beneficial effects. Importantly, we also detected similar cells in patients with ARDS, where they were associated with better lung function. This work lays out the foundation for developing new therapies that actively promote lung healing. In the coming year, we will deepen our understanding of how these cells interact with other components of the lung and investigate whether their function is impaired in severe infections.