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Pulmonary Impact of PBK

MCG Magazine | February 1, 2022

A gene that is overexpressed in some aggressive cancers also appears to be key to the excessive cell proliferation that thickens the walls of pulmonary arteries and ultimately causes the right ventricle of the heart to fail, scientists report.

They have the first evidence that PBK, or PDZ-Binding Kinase, is upregulated in both animal models and the lung tissue of patients with progressive and deadly pulmonary hypertension, says Dr. David Fulton, director of the MCG Vascular Biology Center.

An 'ah-ha' moment links rare lung disease with cancer and a rogue gene
DECEMBER 8, 2021 | THE AUGUSTA CHRONICLE

Cancer researcher Caryn Bird, 29, was walking down the hall at 麻豆官网首页入口 with her boss when she found she didn't have the breath to carry on a conversation. She stopped, but it didn't get better, even after reaching his office. Her shortness of breath was getting worse and wasn't responding to asthma treatments.

Bird wondered aloud if it was her heart and not her lungs but the other researcher suggested it might be both. Turns out, he was right. It was pulmonary arterial hypertension. And it was almost too late.