Gavin E. Arteel, Ph.D.

Professor; Associate Chair for Research

Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology


502–852–5157 gavin.arteel@louisville.edu Faculty Website

Education

Ph.D., Toxicology, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (1997)

Research Areas and Projects

Dr. Arteel and his current research team have major research foci that include; acute and chronic alcohol-induced liver injury, priming of the inflammatory response in liver, sensitization of cytotoxic cell killing in liver, and mechanisms of hepatic regeneration and remodeling. Key events in fatty liver diseases include: chronic injury, impaired regeneration, and an increase in ECM deposition. The majority of research into the latter event in liver disease has focused on collagenous scar formation during endstage (i.e., fibrotic) liver disease. However, several ECM proteins accumulate rapidly in response to stress and may play key roles in hepatic damage. The nature and magnitude of these changes to the ECM are currently poorly understood. Using proteomic approaches, Dr. Arteel is able to characterize the qualitative and quantitative changes to the ECM proteome (“matrisome”) in response to stress. These results therefore also serve as a foundation for future analyses in hepatic models of liver disease, as well as a foundation for predictive modeling of the impact of these changes. There are currently no FDA-approved therapies to halt or reverse the progression of liver diseases. It is the goal of this laboratory's work to identify key molecular mediators of chronic liver diseases, which may serve as useful therapeutic targets. Importantly, the molecular mechanisms identified may not only be shared in chronic diseases of the liver, but also in chronic inflammatory diseases to other organs. Therefore, the results of our research may shed light on chronic diseases of inflammation and remodeling in other organs (e.g., heart, lungs and kidneys).