Ulka Sachdev-Ost, MD

Dr. Sachdev-Ost has federal funding to evaluate mechanisms of release of the nuclear protein HMGB1 from ischemic muscle. While HMGB1 has been shown to promote inflammation in certain models of disease, it has also been linked to pro-angiogenic and other pro-regenerative effects in muscle. She has determined that lack of HMGB1 in ischemic muscle leads to poor recovery following arterial ligation and that different medications may regulate how much HMGB1 is available locally after injury. It is likely that inflammasomes and platelets play a role in this process.  Furthermore, she is working with a post-doctoral fellow to harvest muscle satellite cells from patients, and investigate their proliferation,  differentiation, and potential applicability to therapeutics. She has also recently demonstrated that in patients with chronic venous insufficiency, including those with varicose veins and venous ulceration, levels of locally circulating inflammatory molecules are relatively low compared to control subjects. One hypothesis for this finding is that leukocytes are trapped in the vein walls rather than within the lumen of the vessel. She is investigating mechanisms to visualize inflammation within vein walls to test this hypothesis.