Research Interests
The overriding goal of Dr. Coleman’s work is to identify novel treatments for alcohol use disorders and peripheral immune pathologies. Currently, this includes two main projects:
Neuroimmune Signaling in Alcohol Use Disorders: The goal of this project is to determine the role of innate immune induction in the pathology of alcohol addiction across the lifespan. This project examines the overall hypothesis that chronic ethanol induces innate immune signaling via Toll-like Receptors and cytokines, causing neurotoxicity and behavioral phenotypes associated with alcoholism. Specific immune inhibitors are assessed for their efficacy in models of chronic alcohol abuse.
Peripheral Immune Dysfunction in Systemic Inflammatory Diseases: Alcoholics have altered peripheral immune function, associated with increased risk for sepsis and sepsis-related complications. The goal of this project is to identify critical mediators of systemic immune dysfunction in critical illness settings such as sepsis and burn injury. We hope to identify common pathways in alcohol abuse and critical illnesses that can be targeted for intervention to improve patient outcomes.
Recent Publications
Qin L, Zou J, Barnett A, Vetreno RP, Crews FT, Coleman LG Jr. TRAIL Mediates Neuronal Death in AUD: A Link between Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration. Int J Mol Sci. 2021 Mar 4;22(5). doi: 10.3390/ijms22052547. PubMed PMID: 33806288; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7961445.
Crews FT, Zou J, Coleman LG Jr. Extracellular microvesicles promote microglia-mediated pro-inflammatory responses to ethanol. J Neurosci Res. 2021 Feb 20;. doi: 10.1002/jnr.24813. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 33611821.
Coleman LG Jr, Zou J, Crews FT. Microglial depletion and repopulation in brain slice culture normalizes sensitized proinflammatory signaling. J Neuroinflammation. 2020 Jan 18;17(1):27. doi: 10.1186/s12974-019-1678-y. PubMed PMID: 31954398; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6969463.
