Quasney, Michael W., M.D., Ph.D.
Professor
Division of Pediatric Critical Care
Tel: (414) 266-33498
Email:
Our laboratory focuses on whether common genetic variations influence the severity of lung injury in children. We can all appreciate that children with common disease such as pneumonia do not all have the same severity of illness; that is, most children have mild disease while a small but significant portion develop severe lung injury resulting in respiratory failure and the need for intensive care. Several factors play a role in this variability including the type of pathogen; our hypothesis is that genetic variation is the child also influences the severity of lung disease. We primarily focus on genes that are involved in inflammation and normal lung physiology such as surfactant. In addition, we have also studied whether common genetic variations also influence other aspects of health in children. For example, in collaboration with a research group at the University of Tennessee Health Care Center, we are studying whether genetic variation influences the degree of cardiovascular response in children undergoing a variety of common stressors as a way to evaluate the role of genetic differences in the development of hypertension.
Publications
McArthur JA, Q Zhang, and MW Quasney. Association between the A/A genotype at the lymphotoxin-alpha+250 site and increased mortality in children with positive blood cultures. Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, 3:341-344, 2002.
Waterer GW, L ElBahlawan, MW Quasney, Q Zhang, LA Kessler, and RG Wunderink. Heat shock protein-2+1267 AA homozygotes have an increased risk of septic shock in adults with community acquired pneumonia. Critical Care Medicine, 31:1367-1372, 2003.
Yende S, MW Quasney, EA Tolley, and RG Wunderink. Association of tumor necrosis factor gene polymorphisms and prolonged mechanical ventilation after coronary artery bypass surgery. Critical Care Medicine, 31:133-140. 2003.
Yende S, MW Quasney, EA Tolley, and RG Wunderink. Clinical relevance of angiotensin-converting enzyme gene polymorphisms to predict risk of mechanical ventilation after coronary artery bypass surgery. Critical Care Medicine, 32:922-927. 2004.
Quasney MW, GW Waterer, MK Dahmer, GK Kron, Q Zhang, LA Kessler, and RG Wunderink. Association between surfactant protein B polymorphism and the risk of respiratory failure in adults with community acquired pneumonia. Critical Care Medicine, 32:1115-1119 2004.
Kazzi SNJ, UO Kim, MW Quasney, and I Buhimschi. Polymorphism in tumor necrosis factor-a and risk and severity of bronchopulmonary dysplasia among very low birth weight infants. Pediatrics, 114:e243-248, 2004.
Dahmer MK, A Randolf, S Vitali, MW Quasney. Genetic polymorphisms in sepsis. Ped Crit Care Med, 6: S61-S73, 2005.
Kazzi SNJ and MW Quasney. Deletion allele of angiotensin-converting enzyme is associated with increased risk and severity of bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Journal of Pediatrics, 147:818-822, 2005.
Elbahlawan L, S Binaei, M Christensen, Q Zhang, MW Quasney, MK Dahmer. b2-adrenergic receptor polymorphisms in African American children with asthma. Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, 7:15-18, 2006.
Patwari, P, O’Cain, P, Goodman, DM, Smith, M, Krushkal, J, Liu, C, Somes, G., Quasney, MW, and Dahmer, MK. Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist intron 2 VNTR Polymorphism and Respiratory Failure in Children with Community Acquired Pneumonia, In Press, Ped Crit Care Med, , 2008.
Levy, H, A Murphy, F Zou, C Gerad, B Klanderman, B Schuemann, R Lazarus, C Garcia, JC Celedon, M Drumm, M Dahmer, M Quasney, G Cutting, MR Knowles, GB Pier, C Lange, and ST Weiss. Polymorphisms in the IL-1 gene gamily and lung disease severity in patients with cystic fibrosis. Submitted to Nature Genetics, Jan 2008.
