Vet Cetera magazine 2015
Official magazine of the Center for Veterinary Health Sciences at Oklahoma State University
Official magazine of the Center for Veterinary Health Sciences at Oklahoma State University
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6TH ANNUAL LUNDBERG-KIENLEN LECTURESHIP IN BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH<br />
GARY LAWSON / UNIVERSITY MARKETING<br />
Working for Easier Breathing<br />
KOTTON DETAILS RESEARCH TO HELP REPAIR INJURED LUNGS<br />
Darrell N. Kotton, M.D., shared his findings from his research into stem cells at<br />
the 6th Annual Lundberg-Kienlen Lectureship in Biomedical Research at OSU’s<br />
Center for <strong>Vet</strong>erinary Health Sciences, presenting “Pluripotent Stem Cells for<br />
Modeling Lung Development and Disease” in November 2014.<br />
Dr. Lin Liu (left) and CVHS<br />
Dean Dr. Jean Sander<br />
welcome Dr. Darrell N.<br />
Kotton to the Center for<br />
<strong>Vet</strong>erinary Health Sciences.<br />
Kotton spoke at the 6th<br />
Annual Lundberg-Kienlen<br />
Lectureship in Biomedical<br />
Research.<br />
Since 2002, Kotton has studied<br />
pluripotent stem cells, which can<br />
form any cell in the body. They are<br />
mostly embryonic or induced pluripotent<br />
stem (iPS) cells. All stem<br />
cells can divide and create an identical<br />
copy of themselves.<br />
Kotton’s research focuses on<br />
lung injury and repair. One study<br />
looks to determine the road<br />
map needed to use developing<br />
embryos to recreate pluripotent<br />
stem cells that will benefit animals<br />
and humans fighting certain<br />
lung diseases. Using a mouse<br />
model, Kotton can determine the<br />
pathways faster, then adapt the<br />
process to human cells.<br />
The doctor shared a story of a<br />
young boy who was being shocked<br />
100 times a day to keep his<br />
body systems functioning. Using<br />
iPS cells from his parents to create<br />
cells for the child cut the number<br />
of arrhythmias — and thus the<br />
need for shocks — to zero.<br />
“It is working,” Kotton. “However,<br />
more research is needed. Specifically<br />
we need a functional assay<br />
for iPS-derived lung cells to test<br />
how good the cells are that we are<br />
making. We need better cellular<br />
definitions of what makes a cell.<br />
And we are lacking in rigor; we<br />
need true organ controls such as a<br />
lung biopsy from a person.”<br />
Kotton is a professor in the<br />
Department of Medicine and the<br />
Department of Pathology and<br />
Laboratory Medicine at the Boston<br />
University School of Medicine.<br />
In addition, he is an attending<br />
physician in the Medical Intensive<br />
Care Unit and on the Pulmonary<br />
Consultation Service at<br />
Boston Medical Center. He is also<br />
the founding director for the Center<br />
for Regenerative Medicine and<br />
co-director for the Alpha-1 Center.<br />
The Lundberg-Kienlen lecture<br />
is hosted by Lin Liu, Ph.D., OSU<br />
Regents Professor of physiological<br />
sciences, the Lundberg-Kienlen<br />
Endowed Chair in Biomedical<br />
Research and director of the Oklahoma<br />
Center for Respiratory and<br />
Infectious Diseases at the veterinary<br />
center. The lectureship is co-sponsored<br />
by the Oklahoma Center for<br />
Respiratory and Infectious Diseases<br />
and the Interdisciplinary Program<br />
in Regenerative Medicine at Oklahoma<br />
State University.<br />
24 Center for <strong>Vet</strong>erinary Health Sciences
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