RESEARCH INTERESTS: Chronic inflammation and oxidative stress are common themes in the biology of aging. Inflammatory cells, especially the phagocytic leukocytes, generate large fluxes of reactive oxygen species (ROS) through stimulus-dependent activation of the respiratory burst NADPH oxidase. Although a major beneficial effect of this system is the killing of invading microbes, the ROS generated can also induce pathologic signaling and cellular injury. In recent years, an area of increasing interest focuses on a family of genes (NOX) that are homologous to the phagocyte oxidase, but are expressed in many non-myeloid cells where they are involved in signaling, cell growth, host defenses, and aging. The lab is exploring the role of these oxidases in signal transduction and regulation of genes that are relevant to the biology of aging. Of rapidly increasing prominence are the oxidative stress-associated cellular signaling and injury pathways involved in neurodegenerative disorders, including Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease.
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