Sandeep Kathju, M.D., Ph.D. Assistant Professor Microbiology and Immunology Director, Wound Healing Program, Center for Genomic Sciences, ASRI Attending Surgeon, Division of Plastic Surgery, Allegheny General Hospital 320 East North Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15212 Phone: 412-359-6396 Fax: 412-359-6995 Email: skathju@wpahs.org Ph.D., 1992, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan M.D., 1994, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Keywords:

scarless wound healing, tissue regeneration, tissue engineering, differential gene expression, microarray, fibroblast, myofibroblast, cell motility, cell contractility, RNAi, Dupuytren’s contracture, nitric oxide, chaperonin, proteoglycan; surgical implant infection, bacterial biofilm, suture, mesh, arthroplasty, multiple displacement amplification

Research Interests:

Adult mammals heal their wounds with scar, but in fetal life mammals (including humans) can heal injury scarlessly. This regenerative healing is an intrinsic property of fetal tissues, not simply a benefit of the protected uterine environment, and likely derives from differential gene expression in fetal versus adult tissues. At CGS we have used multiple techniques, including differential display, PCR suppression subtraction hybridization, and self-constructed microarrays to simultaneously survey large sets of genes in healing fetal and adult wound and control tissues. We have identified multiple genes that are expressed differently in these tissues; interestingly, many have not been previously described, but represent novel gene products. Our laboratory continues to characterize these genes. We are also exploring the effects of overexpression or inhibition of these genes in tissue culture and in healing adult wounds. In this way we hope to reconstitute scarless wound healing in adult organisms and prevent debilitating scar formation after injury.

A second area of focus is the role of bacterial biofilm in surgical implant infection. Infection following surgery such as total joint replacement represents a problematic complication; it is often refractory to antibiotic treatment and may require multiple surgical procedures to control, including explantation of the prosthetic joint. We are using a number of microscopic and molecular techniques to characterize the bacteria that cause these infections, which often congregate into microbial communities known as biofilms. Biofilm bacteria are difficult to detect and very difficult to treat; we are using multiple displacement amplification  and animal model systems to establish improved diagnostic and therapeutic methodologies for these complicated infections.

Dupuytren’s contracture is the most common inherited connective tissue disorder in man, marked by flexion contracture of the fingers that can severely interfere with hand function. We are examining cells and tissues from affected patients by microarray analysis to understand the underlying molecular basis of this disease in the hope of arriving at novel molecular interventions to address it.

Selected Publications:

1. Kathju, S., Satish, L., Rabik, C., Rupert, T., Oswald, D., Johnson, S., Hu, F.Z., Post, J.C. and G.D. Ehrlich.  Identification of differentially expressed genes in scarless wound healing utilizing polymerase chain reaction-suppression subtractive hybridization.  Wound Repair Regen, 2006; 14:413-420.
2. Stoodley, P., Kathju, S., Hu, F.Z., Erdos, G., Levenson, J.E., Mehta, N., Dice, B., Johnson, S., Hall-Stoodley, L., Nistico, L., Sotereanos, N., Sewecke, J., Post, J.C. and G.D. Ehrlich.  Molecular and imaging techniques for bacterial biofilms in joint arthroplasty infections.  Clin Orthop Relat Res, 2005; 437:31-40.
3. Ehrlich, G.D., Stoodley, P., Kathju, S., Zhao, Y., McLeod, B.R., Baliban, N., Hu, F.Z., Sotereanos, N., Costerton, J.W., Stewart, P.S., Post, J.C. and Q. Lin.  Engineering approaches to the detection and control of orthopaedic biofilm infections.  Clin Orthop Relat Res, 2005; 437:59-66.