# SELPLG as a candidate gene in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome

> **NIH NIH K08** · UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA · 2020 · $172,692

## Abstract

SUMMARY/ABSTRACT:
This application for a Mentored Clinical Scientist Research Career Development Award (K08) addresses the
important issue of racial disparities in both risk and severity for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), a
severe acute critical illness with a high mortality rate (~30%) affecting up to 200,000 US patients each year.
Subjects of African descent exhibit increased ARDS risk and higher ARDS mortality compared with non-
Hispanic whites. It has been increasingly appreciated that genetic factors participate in determining
predisposition to ARDS and may contribute to observed health disparities. Additionally, an understanding of
genetic determinants of ARDS susceptibility will hasten the development of novel personalized preventive and
therapeutic approaches to ARDS care. The PI for this K08 application is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at
the University of Arizona who aspires to a career focused on translational ARDS research related to
deciphering the genetic and non-genetic factors that underlie the observed health disparities in critical care and
to exploring personalized therapies in ARDS. The PI has clinical training in pulmonary and critical care
medicine, as well as training and experience in the design and conduct of clinical trials. He now proposes to
extend the reach and scope of his research towards a translational systems biology program in ARDS and
critical care. Under the mentorship of Joe GN Garcia MD, a world-renowned physician-scientist in the field of
ARDS, genetics, and health disparities, the PI has generated important preliminary data implicating the selectin
P ligand (SELPLG) gene and its encoded protein, P-selectin glycoprotein ligand 1 (PSGL1) as novel
susceptibility targets for ARDS in individuals of African descent. The proposed research will employ a focused
and comprehensive systems biology approach to test the hypothesis that SELPLG and PSGL1 are novel
ARDS targets with genetic variants that confer ARDS susceptibility. Specific Aim #1 (SA #1) will characterize
the regulation of SELPLG expression by ARDS stimuli and carefully-selected SELPLG promoter SNPs on
SELPLG gene promoter activity SA #2 will characterize effects of SELPLG coding SNPs on PSGL1 activity in
preclinical models of ARDS. Finally, SA #3 will assess the association of selectin pathway gene SNPs with
ARDS risk and mortality utilizing the Sequenom MassARRAY genotyping platform on a diverse well-
phenotyped cohort of ARDS patient DNA samples (>2,000) and healthy controls (race-matched) from the DNA
repository stored within our University of Arizona biobank. Thus, the K08-suported training in advanced
genetics, functional genomics, bioinformatic analysis, and lung injury biology, will have high translational
therapeutic implications and will enhance the likelihood that the PI will successfully transition to an independent
research career focused on translational ARDS and health disparities.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9898444
- **Project number:** 5K08HL141623-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
- **Principal Investigator:** Christian Bime
- **Activity code:** K08 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $172,692
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-04-09 → 2023-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9898444

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9898444, SELPLG as a candidate gene in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (5K08HL141623-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9898444. Licensed CC0.

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