Studies of Altered Response to Infection Induced by Thermal Injury.

This contract period has been particularly productive. We have developed the M0 assay, and have accumulated data indicating that this new assay is monitoring an important burn altered M0 function. We are improving and refining the PGE2 assay while gathering important new indications of the inimical effects of post-burn elevation of M0 PGE2 on immune function. We also now have the capacity to identify human Ts subsets using the fluorescence cell sorter and expect to expand this capacity in the coming year. Most important, we are now beginning to examine various prophylactic treatments for their efficacy in reversing a number of burn mediated immune defects. We expect even more interesting data and several publications to result from experiments now in progress.