Albany Medical College gets $2M for organ failure study

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10)– Albany Medical College scientists will soon dive into a new study on organ failure thanks to a $2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health. The college, a member of Albany Medical Center, will research how small proteins called cytokine in endothelial cells affect organ failure when a person is sick.

Endothelial cells line blood and lymphatic vessels, helping regulate blood flow and prevent blood clotting. However, scientists at the college say that cells suffer a lot of damage when a person’s immune system overreacts to critical illness or sepsis.

College officials said that when endothelial cells overreact to illness, they release cytokines. According to the college, cytokines may help regulate immune responses but cause small blood clots.

The grant funding supports more research into interleukin-6 (IL-6) cytokines and their contribution to organ failure, figuring out what regulates immune responses to clear out pathogens. Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology associate professor Alejandro Adam said his lab’s previous research shows that the cells play a key role in critical illness when organ function begins to fail.

“Answering these critical questions is crucial to discovering the key determinants of organ failure,” Adam said. “We hope that the knowledge gained from this study will lead to the development of innovative new therapies that prevent organ damage without suppressing the body’s immune response.”