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Home > Healthcare Professionals > Research Awards > Researcher Profiles > Dr. Costica Aloman

Dr. Costica Aloman, MD

2008 American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases Liver Scholar. Mount Sinai Medical School Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, New York.

When part of the body is injured or infected, the immune response is activated in order to limit damage and clean the infection. But when the liver is infected by hepatitis C virus (HCV), the immune response there can produce inflammation. This can lead to fibrosis, or scarring of the liver, and in turn to more serious complications such as liver cirrhosis and liver failure. One of the most important cells for initiating the immune response is the dendritic cell. It is also known that inflammation of the liver can activate a type of cell called the stellate cell which, once activated, contributes to fibrosis. Dr. Aloman is working to describe the complex interaction between the activation of dendritic cells, which trigger the immune system, and stellate cells, which are responsible for fibrosis.

Specifically, Dr. Aloman hypothesizes that dendritic cells have the ability to control stellate cell activity and number. As such, his study aims to measure how changes in the number of dendritic cells modify stellate cell activation and number in the liver. The results of his study may provide a new direction for developing liver fibrosis treatments based on modulating the activity of dendritic cells in the liver.

Dr. Aloman is testing his hypothesis using Fms-like tyrosine kinase (Flt3L), a substance that is known to increase the number of dendritic cells. He also hopes to identify the role of a chemical mediator called IL-15 in this process. Dendritic cells are known to use IL-15 to regulate other cells, and one of the goals of this study is to uncover the exact role that IL-15 plays in the dendritic-stellate cell interaction.

Page updated: August 1st, 2008